


Parenting Peter

by happyaspie



Series: Beautiful Boy (Darling Pete) [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adopted Peter Parker, Asthmatic Peter Parker, Awesome Pepper Potts, Bicycles, Discipline, Field Trip, Flash Thompson Being A Jerk, Happy Hogan is a Good Bro, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Kid Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Pre-Spider Bite Peter Parker, Precious Peter Parker, Separation Anxiety, Sick Peter Parker, Swim Club, Swimming, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Swears, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, Uncle Happy Hogan, Uncle James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Worried Tony Stark, Zoo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23014438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: A collection of one-shots that revolve around Tony (along with Pepper and Happy) trying their hardest to parent eight-year-old Peter.~💕❤~**Being as these stories are a part of an extended series, it might be easier to follow if you've, at least, read part one.**
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Beautiful Boy (Darling Pete) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594498
Comments: 150
Kudos: 367





	1. Stranger Danger

**Author's Note:**

> I really feel like Peter and Tony's 'story' came to a close at the end of Better Than You Know but then I had the idea for the fun little birthday story but at this point, I think I'd like to carry on with this little family in the way of one-shots. Just little tidbits of their lives while Peter is still little. 
> 
> Eventually, I would LOVE to write about this little Peter as a teenage Peter. Him gaining his Spider-powers and how he deals with that as Tony's adopted son... but that could be months from now. ...AND even then I am willing to bet I would still add to this little Peter, one-shot collection here. That's just sort of my long term goal.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Peter is his son and the world is starting to catch on, Tony wants to make sure his little boy is _safe._ That means redesigning the school's security approaches, hiring guards and... making sure his son knows what to do should things ever go sideways. He just didn't realize that those lessons would include a goddamned _whistle._

Quite a few things came with having the name 'Stark' attached to yours. There was the money and notoriety of course but there was also the threat of, well, threats. Tony was used to it. He'd been kidnapped, he'd been extorted and hell, he'd received more threats on his life in the last two fucking days that most people received in their entire lifetime. Not that he couldn't handle it. He was Iron Man for Christ's sake. He had a gauntlet in his watch and enough combat, and hand to hand training to get him through damn near anything at this point. His son, on the other hand, was young and had none of those things which is why when it became evident that it was time to announce the child's existence he worried.

People weren't stupid. When they found out that he had a kid they would know without ever asking that said kid was his biggest weakness. He knew the threats on his own life would dwindle and threats on his son's life would take their place. It was fucked up how things worked but the truth was that they would see Peter as being far more vulnerable than himself and they would be right. He wasn't going to sit back and allow his kid to be a target though. He would do absolutely fucking anything to keep him safe. He would be hiring security to keep an eye on his son outside of the tower and making some drastic changes to the school's safety plans. Including, making sure every fucking door was locked and that both ID and purpose were required for entry to the building. Maybe install some metal detectors. He hadn't gotten that far but all of these things would be easy. All he had to do was pull out his wallet. The other end of the equation was going to be much more complicated. While all of those measures were solid they weren't perfect. There would still be risks. He needed to make sure Peter knew how to take care of himself in a less than ideal situation.

That was the part worried Tony the most. His son was sensitive and that meant that he would have to go over things like, not talking to strangers and where to go if he needed help with care. It wasn't like he could sit down and tell the boy. ' _So... you're at risk of being kidnapped now..._ '. The would never leave his bedroom again and that was clearly unacceptable. There had to be a middle ground. 

After a long-ass conversation with Happy, his go-to for security and Pepper, his go-to for common fucking sense, they all decided that the best way to teach Peter what he needed to know was to do so at his school. Have a police officer and maybe even a martial artist come in to teach the entire class how to avoid being kiddie-snatched and what to do if someone ever managed to get their hands on them. Really it was win-win for everyone involved. All four hundred students would become less at risk and Peter wouldn't think anything of the training because it took place amongst his peers. Besides, all of this was just for backup. It wasn't like there would ever be a time where the child wouldn't be surrounded by no less than two armed guards... even if they were out of sight, they would be there.

The school was eager to implement the changes, probably because Tony was funding them and frankly it just made them look better. What school doesn't want to boast that they have state of the art security in place? Parents eat that shit up. They were also eager to agree to the requested assembly, all parties deciding that it should be done in small groups by grade. Peter's going first, of course, he wanted this done before the press conference that would without a doubt cause shit to hit the fan. 

They ended up sending permission slips home because Tony was adamant that he wanted the kids, well, his kid anyway, to learn how to strategically worm his way out of the grasp of even the largest man's hands. It ended up taking more fucking effort that it should have to get them to understand that he wasn't promoting violence, he was promoting self-defense. There was a huge difference there.

Eventually, the day of the assembly rolled around and Tony made a point of being the one to pick his son up from school that day. They'd not really discussed anything about it other than it was happening because the kid was fucking smart. The last thing he wanted was for the boy to realize that the whole damn thing had been set up for him. "Hey, Buddy, how was school?", he asked as the kid climbed into his booster seat and buckled his seatbelt.

However, rather than answering, the kid grinned, put a bright yellow whistle to his lips and blew. The shrill sound filled the car and Tony covered his ears. "What the hell was that for?", Tony snapped as he reached back and tried to remove the offending whistle from his son's hands.

"You can't take it, Daddy!", Peter shouted as he tucked the damn thing behind his back. "The policeman gave it to me for stranger danger!"

Taking a deep breath, Tony put the car into gear so that he could let the next car in the stupid pickup line through and tried not to shout anymore. That never went over well. It just made the kid cry... or shout back and he wasn't prepared for either of those things at the moment. "Do you see any strangers in this car, Pete?", he asked with more calm than he felt. His fucking ears were still ringing. 

"No.", Peter said with a smile. "I just wanted to show you."

"Yeah, well next time, how about you just put it in my hand. I don't let you yell in the car why would I let you blow a damn whistle?", Tony bit back, not quite able to keep the irritation from seeping in. Then he took another breath and tried to calm down. "New rule. No yelling or loud toys in the car."

"It's not a toy, Daddy. It's a tool to keep me safe. The policeman said so.", Peter replied with such conviction that Tony decided to let it go. The whole point had been for the kid to learn how to keep himself safe. Though he did wonder whose idea it had been to add a goddamned fucking whistle into the plan. As neat as the kid kept his room the damn thing was small and bound to go missing at some point, leading to a tantrum of one variety or another. All in all, it was a migraine waiting to happen.

After several seconds of blissful silence, Tony decided to prob for more. "Yeah? Well, what else did the policeman say?", he asked out of curiosity. He'd thought he knew the outline of what was going to be taught throughout the day but he'd missed the memo about the fucking whistle so he figured he may as well ask. That and asking was probably a good way to make sure it had all sunk in. After glancing in the rearview mirror, Tony smiled at the way his son was swinging his legs and had his face all wrinkled up in thought. He wondered if twisting his nose like that, would be a habit he carried with him for the rest of his life. It was cute and he was sure he would miss it, should it ever disappear. 

"That if we ever feel worried about someone around us to get away and find a grownup that we can trust. She said that people with badges were good helpers and that if you're in a store or, like, Disney World or something that you can look for people with a name tag on. That's how you know they work there and they can help too.", Peter eventually answered.

"That sounds reasonable.", Tony replied with a nod of his head, though he'd expected the kid to tell him something a little more... _more._ "What else did you learn today?"

Another twist of the nose, later, Peter was grinning with giddy delight. "Oh! Did you know that if you hit somebody in the nose really hard they'll cry even if they don't want to!", Peter asked and Tony huffed a laugh. While that was true, he found it interesting that his son seemed so overjoyed by that fact. Usually, he was the definition of a pacifist. 

"Good to know. Let's not ever give that a try though, yeah?", he said matter-of-factly when the excitement never faded from the boy's face. Then he thought about the kid's unwavering compliance and sighed. "I mean unless you're in danger, in which case you can punch them in the nose as many times as you'd like.", he said with a smile as he tried to picture his tiny son, knocking a very large man repeatedly in the nose. It seemed so out of character that the image made him chuckle to himself. 

"We're not allowed to hit at school, Daddy.", Peter seriously replied. "Or kick or bite or call names"

"Those sound like some solid rules to me, kiddo.", Tony said as he thought back to the day the kid had bitten him during and anxiety-induced melt-down. It hadn't happened again but he was glad to hear that the boy was adamant to follow those rules. Being bitten by a seven-year-old had fucking hurt. No hitting, kicking _or biting_ were rules he could get behind. It wasn't until that thought had passed that he realized his son still looked deep in thought. "What are you thinking about, Buddy?"

"...What if there's a stranger in the school who tries to hurt you. You can break the rules then, right?", Peter asked waveringly. 

Tony laughed lightly at the question and nodded his head. "Right but I think you'll be safe at school.", he said feeling mostly confident that nothing could happen there. He'd certainly gone to some fucking lengths to make sure that it didn't.

When they got back to the tower, they went straight up to the penthouse but not before Peter managed to point out every single employee that he didn't recognize, labeling them as a 'stranger'. That earned them more than a few looks and Tony was just fucking glad the kid didn't pull out the damn whistle. Maybe because they all wore name badges at Happy's persistence and while that was annoying as shit on a regular day, at the moment it felt like a goddamned blessing.

Once they had gotten home, Peter went to wash his hands like normal and then came to eat the snack that Tony had set out for him before going into his room and hauling out every single stuffed animal he owned to line them up on the couch. At first, Tony thought it was cute the way the boy was pretending to be the police officer and teaching his toys all about 'Stranger Danger'. That is until the kid starting shouting things like, ' _Let me go!_ ' and ' _This is not my Daddy_ ' at the top of his lungs, making Tony just about jump out of his skin.

"Peter Benjamin Parker-Stark! Since when do we yell int he house like that?", he growled and only felt slightly guilty when his son's lip stuck out in a pout.

"I was just teaching them what to say if they ever get caught by a bad guy...", Peter replied and Tony gave in marginally. If nothing else, he was glad to know the boy had been paying attention.

"Well, you can teach them other stuff.", Tony said with a sigh. " _Quieter_ stuff."

~o~o~o~o~o~

That stupid whistle accompanied Peter everywhere they went for the next several days. During which time, he scared several squirrels, startled several employees in the parking garage and made Tony want to bang his head up against a wall. The kid had finally gotten slightly less _trigger-happy_ after scaring the shit out of Happy but even so, by the end of the week, Tony was praying for the damn thing to get lost already. He wasn't sure how the kid had managed to keep up with it for as long as he had. 

"Buddy, you know you can't keep blowing that whistles all the time, right?", Tony said as he pressed his pinking finger into his ear in an attempt to decrease the lingering tinnitus from when the kid had, once again, blown into the fucking whistle fifteen minutes prior. "You're not in danger. You're just being loud.", he added with a sigh.

Peter looked up at him with a huff and dropped his arms heavily by his sides. "There was a lady without a name tag on outside your office. She might have been a bad guy.", he suggested knowing that everyone, himself included, was required to wear identification while on the Stark Industries floors. 

"Kid... bad guys aren't wandering in and out of our building...", Tony explained while pinching the bridge of his nose. Though, he did make a mental note to mention that to Happy later. If nothing else the man would have a field day tracking down whatever employee or guest thought that they could get away with not having the badge on.

Having just returned home, Peter walked down the hall to wash his hands while Tony did the same in the kitchen. Though when the kid returned it seemed that he had thought of another childishly conjured justification for the use of his favorite whistle. "Well, at the park the guy with the frisbee was looking at me and I didn't like it.", he said after he'd climbed up onto the stood by the breakfast bar.

"People are going to look at you, Buddy. You're with me.", Tony replied. How they had gotten by for so long without a storybook full of accusations and assumptions crossing the internet was downright shocking. Sure, there had been one or two articles when he first started hanging out with the kid but the PR team had brushed it off as a 'mentoring' thing and people eventually lost interest. It wasn't until recently that people had started talking again. Probably because their interactions in public were no longer sporadic. If he was out and about, chances were that Peter was with him and the general public is nosey as fuck.

"But--", Peter started but Tony was finished with the excuses for the time being and held up his hand to silence his son before he could say anything else

"--No buts. You don't need to blow the stupid whistle.", Tony said with exasperation. There were far better ways to prevent being kidnapped than being fucking obnoxious. "Just don't wander off, don't leave with someone you don't know and don't carry on conversations with people you don't know.", he firmly stated, knowing that his kid was in no danger of doing any of those things anyway. He was too shy to say much more than a quiet hello to anyone he didn't readily recognize. He wasn't likely to willingly climb into a car with them. "You don't need to yell or make noise unless someone is about to put their hands on you."

"What about kids?", Peter asked in return and that question left Tony feeling somewhat stumped. 

"What _about_ kids?", Tony repeated, turning the question into another question altogether. He was pretty sure his son knew that it was okay to meet and be friendly with new kids. Then again, perhaps the in-depth assembly had left him somewhat confused. He wouldn't put his past his son to have misread that was said. He tended to overanalyze and then fill in any gaps in the information with whatever made the most sense to him and then _sometimes_ he would ask for clarification later. Which is where they seemed to be at the moment. 

"You can talk to kids, Buddy and you can be polite to adults you just can't go off by yourself.", Tony said with remorse. He knew that at eight the kid was probably old enough to have some amount of autonomy, especially when it came to doing things like going to the restroom by himself at a restaurant or walking away from the playground to look at the ducks for a few minutes but they just didn't have that kind of luxury. Once the world had confirmation that Peter was his son, there would inevitably be one or two out of the millions who wanted to harm him and he couldn't let that happen. "You just can't leave my sight... or who ever's in charge of you's sight."

"I don't want to leave your sight.", Peter said with a tiny shrug of his shoulders that made Tony smile in return. It was nice to know that the kid still wanted to be around him. Goodness knows that by the time he was eight, he'd given up on wanting to be around his own dad. Howard had made it very clear that he was a busy man. Too busy, to bother with entertaining his own child. 

"I know that, Buddy. I also know that you would never talk to strangers or anything like that because you're a good kid.", Tony said softly. "I just worry about you.

"Why?", Peter asked as he hopped down off of the stool and started to walk towards the living room with his dad right behind him. 

"Because... you're mine.", Tony lamely expressed before dropping down onto the couch beside his kid. He wasn't sure how to explain to the boy that he was literally his _everything_. Rhodey, Happy and Pepper were extremely high on his priority list but Peter... he had become his whole fucking heart. It took a few minutes of contemplation but eventually, he came up with an analogy that he thought might work. "Remember how upset you got when Jojo got lost under the bed?", he asked and waited for Peter to adamantly nod his head. "Well, I would be _three thousand times_ more upset than that if anything ever happened to you. That's how much I love you."

"You love me three thousand?", Peter questioned making Tony laugh. That hadn't been what he was going for but if the kid wanted to cling to that, so be it. 

"Yep.", he replied with a nod of his head. 

"That's a really big number.", Peter replied with his brows scrunched together in thought. 

"It is. Do you know how big?", Tony asked, having already thought up a simplistic way to quantify that number even if the math was a bit sketchy. "There are _two_ thousand pounds in a ton so that means I love you one whole ton plus a thousand more. Like as big as a hippopotamus.", he explained as he pulled his son into his lap and kissed the top of his head several times.

Peter sighed, leaned back into Tony's chest and tried to look him in the eyes while simultaneously dodging a few more kisses that were trying to make their way to his cheeks and nose. "I promise not to let any bad guys get me, okay, Daddy.", he said with as much seriousness as he could while trying to cover his face with his hands.

Tony chuckled at the promise and squeezed his son tight. "Well, I would appreciate that.", he replied with a serious nod of his head. "Thank you."

"...but you can't let any bad guys get you either...", Peter returned but rather than looking up, this time he was looking towards the floor and squirming nervously. "...like they did before.", he whispered and Tony turned his son around so that they were face to face. He'd sort of forgotten that Peter knew about his own bought with captivity. He'd been an infant when that had happened but he was also smart and had used the internet to look up how his arc reactor worked before they'd ever met. He'd no doubt come across _why_ he had the arc reactor in the first place, at some point during that research. 

"That won't happen again, kiddo.", he said with a sad smile. He didn't think much about his time in Afghanistan these days but when he did... he knew it wasn't all bad. It had led him to where he was. "I'm Iron Man now, remember?"

"Yeah but...", Peter started but he paused as he wiggled around so that he could get his hand into his pocket, pull out the whistle and shove it into Tony's hands. "...here. I decided that I want you to have my yellow whistle."

Tony took the small toy and rolled it around in his hands. "I thought that was to keep you safe.", he asked with a quirk of his brow. Not that he was against the kid giving the damn thing up. He just wanted him to feel comfortable and confident, and if that damn whistle did that for him then he wanted him to have it... just... maybe not fucking blow into it.

Peter smiled and laid his forehead down onto Tony's chest. "You'll keep me safe and I'll keep you safe, except I'm only little so all I can do it give you my whistle. Then you can use it to keep _us both_ safe.", he heard his son say and even though the words were muffled by the way he had his face was buried into his shirt. However, he heard him clearly enough and smiled. 

"You sure you want me to have it?", Tony asked once more and he could feel his son nodding his head against him. 

"Mm-hmm. It'll help you keep me safe.", Peter reiterated and Tony gave the toy one last look before slipping it into his own pocket. Though, what he'd not realized as he'd done so was how important that stupid whistle was going to become to him. That from that day forward he would carry in his pocket everywhere he went. Even long after his son would stop quizzing him on whether or not he still had it. He had no idea that it would end up going with him every day to the workshop, to every single AA meeting he would ever attend or that even when he was off on missions with the Avenger's, that he would have that damn toy nestled carefully in his pocket the whole time.

He also didn't know that by the time it was too cracked and delicate to place in his pocket anymore that the little boy who had given it to him would be well on his way to being a teenager. One that would be constantly insisting that he could look after himself. Not that Tony would ever care to listen to such nonsense because no matter how strong or capable the kid became, he would always strive to keep him safe and he didn't actually need a whistle to do that. 


	2. The Bike-A-Thon

It was Saturday morning and tony was sitting in his chair reading the latest news on his tablet while Peter played on the floor. That was typically how weekends worked. They sat around doing a whole lot of nothing inside the penthouse all day. Sometimes Pepper would be there too and they would all play some games together. Other times they would meet up with her for dinner. Every once in a while, Peter would go stay with Happy or go to Ned's house for the day but generally speaking, Weekends were all about being lazy. All of this was why when Peter stopped what he was doing and theatrically draped himself over his legs nearly knocking the damn tablet out of his hand he was a little surprised.

"Daddy? I'm bored.", Peter declared.

After taking a split second to catch the tablet that was trying to take a nosedive onto the floor, Tony rolled his eyes. "How can you possibly be bored? You have a room full of toys, books, and games.", he said. The kid's room was wall to wall covered in all kinds of shit to keep him occupied and he wasn't sure why none of it was good enough at the moment. Usually, the boy was really good at keeping himself entertained.

"Yeah but I do that stuff all the time. I want to _learn_ something.", Peter replied with a dramatic sigh.

"Okay...", Tony questioned as he turned off the tablet and set it aside because, obviously, his son was in need of his undivided attention at the moment. Not that he minded. He loved giving the kid attention. Especially when it involved teaching the boy how to do things down in his lab. It was fun to watch how his son's brain worked. "Do you want to go down to my lab and work on your robot dog?"

"No, I want to learn something _outside_.", Peter amended just as dramatically, making Tony feel unreasonably annoyed. Clearly, the kid had something specific in mind but for whatever reason, felt the need to be all cryptic about it. 

"Pete, I'm not really interested in playing guessing games with you right now. What are you asking me for?", Tony sighed out as he lifted his kid's limp body up onto his lap. 

For several seconds, Peter said nothing and Tony just sat there, patiently watching the boy's brain tick. "I want a bicycle. A real one with bell and everything.", his son finally said and Tony nodded his head.

"What brought this on?", he asked, prompting the kid to slid off of his legs and start digging through his backpack. When he returned he was carrying a brightly colored paper announcing the next bullshit school fundraiser. If he had his way he would simply donate one large sum of money at the beginning of the year and be done with it but the kid was adamant about participating in the stupid events because _'if we all participate we get to have a pizza party_ '. Apparently this time it was to be a Bike-A-Thon. Knowing that made his son's sudden request for a bicycle make much more sense. "Well, I guess we can go out and get you a bike."

Peter smiled and hugged him around the middle before worming his way back into his lap. "I don't know how to ride one. I need you to teach me.", he said with a pout. 

"We can get you some training wheels.", Tony suggested with a shrug of his shoulders because that seemed reasonable. Peter was a kid and kids used training wheels. 

"No! I don't want training wheels. I have to be able to ride a two-wheeler like a big kid. You can't be in the Bike-A-Thon with training wheels. If you are then you look like a baby.", Peter adamantly pointed out with a shake of his head.

"Say's who?", Tony said with a frown even though he already had a pretty good idea. Every single class had at least one asshole in it and in Peter's class, that asshole went by the name of _Flash Thompson._ Knowing that he was unsurprised by his son's next proclamation. 

"Flash told everybody that he has a really cool bike with a bell and reflectors and flames painted on it but not training wheels and I don't want to look like a baby.", Peter said all in one breath before hiding his face into his father's chest.

Sighing deeply, Tony placed his hands on his son's deflated back. "We both know Flash isn't very nice and I'm sure plenty of other kids in your class will have training wheels. It'll be fine.", he said, expecting his son to agree with him. However, instead of nodding his head the boy sat up and looked directly at the floor, with his face all scrunched up in guilt.

"I already told everybody that I can ride a two-wheeler all by myself.", Peter mumbled.

After insisting that the kid looks at him, Tony sighed. "Why would you lie about--", he began to ask but was cut off by his son's immature defense. 

"--I didn't _really_ lie! You can teach me, Daddy! You always teach me stuff. Why can't you teach me this too!", Peter nearly shouted before tears of frustration began to seep out of the corners of his eyes making Tony feel like a dick. It hadn't been his intention to upset the kid he'd just never known his son to ever tell any sort of mistruth before. The fact that he had felt the need to do so in order to avoid being teased by some dickheaded kid in his class was worrisome. Yet, rather than getting up to write a strongly worded letter to the school, telling them exactly how he felt about both fundraisers and asshole children, he sighed.

"Alright, let's go."

~o~o~o~o~o~

They ended up going to an actual bicycle store rather than a department store so that Peter could be fitted with a bike that suited his height and ability. After being shown several options, Peter picked the one that was bright blue with red accents. He also picked up a bell, a red helmet and a red basket that could be attached to the handlebars. Tony assumed that it was so that Jojo could ride along but Peter said it was for his water bottle and a pack of cookies. Either way, there was a basket for carrying things. 

Then as Tony went to the desk to make the purchase the man who had been helping them asked him if they needed training wheels. He looked at Peter, cocked his head to the side and raised eye eyebrow but his son shook his head in a firm 'no.' "You sure, Buddy? I can still teach you but the training wheels might be a nice way to start.", he said but Peter continued to shake his head. Even when the expert tried to weigh in Peter was having none of it, so they walked out without any training wheels. 

On the way home, they stopped at the park that was directly outside near the tower. It wasn't big but it had a large patch of smooth grass, a wide flat sidewalk and Tony figured that was enough to get them going. They parked, pulled the bike off of the newly installed rack and Peter danced in place as his bike was unclasped and placed on the ground and his helmet was adjusted under his chin.

They started in the grass where Tony showed the kid how to use the breaks and then followed close behind as Peter used his feet rather than the pedals to push himself along as he tried to get the hang of balancing. Several minutes of that passed before the boy was insisting on using the pedals. 

"I know how to balance, Daddy. I can stand on one foot and ride the scooters on the playground.", Peter insisted as Tony once again grabbed ahold of the bike's seat when it looked like it was about to topple over.

"This isn't quite the same thing, Buddy.", Tony tried to explain to his frowning child. "Let me see you use those breaks a few more times.", he added with as much bullshit enthusiasm as he could pull together. He wasn't against the kid riding a bike. It was good exercise and all that he just hated that the entire process seemed forced. The boy had never had any interest in riding a bike before and he couldn't help but feel like the damn fundraiser was the only thing making him want to learn now. That and to avoid being picked on by asshat kid.

"I want to use the pedals. I'm not a baby.", Peter whined confirming his latter suspicions. He never in his life imagined himself ever wanting to strangle a child as much as he did right then. His son was on the small side and was probably more sensitive than most boys his age but he wasn't a baby. 

"I never said you were, Pete. You're smart and creative and definitely _not_ a baby.", Tony firmly replied, looking directly into his little boy's big brown eyes in order to prove that he was saying nothing but the truth. Then he sighed and looked around the grassy area they were standing in. "If you feel like you're ready to pedal then go ahead and pedal."

For a while, Tony followed along as his son tried his hardest to pedal and balance at the same time. He tried to offer a few encouraging words but the kid was getting frustrated and he knew that eventually, nothing he could say would be enough. Then as if on cue, Peter's bike tipped over completely and he could see tears building in his son's eyes.

"You're alright, kid. It's the first day. You just need some practice.", Tony said as he ignored the handful of nosey-ass people who had gathered around them to watch and scooped his disheartened child into his arms. "When you're ready, we can try again."

"The grass is too bumpy.", Peter complained and Tony sighed because that wasn't the actual problem. The actual problem was that the kid wasn't balancing well yet and while there was nothing wrong with that, the boy was already upset and probably not in the mood for any kind of critique. 

"I'm not sure you're ready for the sidewalk, kiddo.", he eventually replied and could feel his son stiffen in his arms. "You can keep going in the grass for a little while longer and then we'll go home to clean up before Pepper comes over." Peter half-heartedly agreed and spent the next half hour trying and failing to pedal the bike more than a few feet before tipping over again. 

The short ride home was quiet, as was the trip up the elevator and the only thing that was said once they arrived in the penthouse was Tony sending Peter to change out of his grass-stained jeans. He felt like an utter failure. He could teach the boy the basics of how to wire a small integrated circuit but not how to ride a fucking bicycle. Yet after talking it out with Pepper and getting a good night's sleep, he was ready to give it another go in the morning. 

Being a Sunday before lunch there weren't many people occupying the small park. Peter who was also feeling a bit better about the situation was eager to try again and with the help of a small hill, he managed to pedal in a straight line for several yards before implementing the breaks and coming to a jostlingly rough but successful stop. "I did it, Daddy! Do you see me! I rode a two-wheeler!"

"I saw you! You tried so hard and I'm so proud of you, Big Boy!", Tony cheered as Peter climbed off of his bicycle and jumped into Tony's arms.

"Can I ride on the sidewalk now, Daddy?", Peter eagerly asked and when Tony didn't answer right away he began to plead. "Please, please, please, please, please?"

Tony was nearly sure they weren't really there yet but he didn't want to squash his son's spirit by being too overbearing, so he gave in. "Sure, Buddy but I'm going to run beside you, okay?", he suggested because that felt like a good compromise. Peter accepted with a vigorous nod of his head and he followed along as the boy started to pedal down the sidewalk, wobbling slightly. It was making him nervous as shit watching way the bike teetered and swayed as his inexperienced son tried to steer.

Just as Tony was starting to think that maybe the kid did actually have it and in turn his pace to catch his breath, Peter lost what little control he'd had. In an amateurish attempt to correct his balance his foot had slipped off of the pedal and he'd looked down in order to replace it. Except when he'd looked away he didn't see the large stick that was laying across the walkway and no matter how quickly Tony ran to try and get ahead of the bike to kick it away he couldn't go fast enough. He was left to watch in horror as the front tire hit the obstruction causing the bike to jolt and his son to end up on the sidewalk crying.

"Pete!", Tony shouted as he dropped painfully down onto his knees to pull his son into a hug before checking him over, head to toe. "Let me get a good look at you, Buddy.", he said but rather than holding out his palms as he normally would, the boy held tightly onto his bent right leg. Carefully prying the kid's hand's away revealed a hole in his jeans and a bleeding knee. "Alright, Baby. We need to get you home and get that cleaned up. Hang on tight.", he sighed as he lifted his son onto his hip and took the bike up in his free hand. It was one of those moments where he was glad that he spent so much time in the gym because holy fuck it was a chore to carry both a crying child and a bicycle across the entire park to the car. 

Once they were back at the tower, Tony had Peter out of his jeans and sitting on the bathroom countertop beside an open first-aid kit. "I don't think I want to learn how to ride a bike anymore.", the boy whimpered as the warm washcloth made contact with his knee.

"Yes, you do but we're going to take a break for today. We can try again after school tomorrow.", Tony said with an encouraging smile but Peter continued to frown and sniffle, while adamantly stating that he did _not_ want to try again. "I thought you wanted to ride in the Bike-A-Thon..."

"I don't anymore. I can't do it.", Peter said as he held the cloth in place while his dad collected the antibacterial spray and a bandage from the kit.

"You just need some more practice, Buddy.", Tony said with a small smile but when Peter continued to look at him with his big brown watery eyes he decided to let it go. "Alright, we can talk about that later. Now take a deep breath for me. This is going to sting a little.", he murmured as he braced himself for the inevitability of his son crying while he applied the topical medication. 

They didn't talk about the bicycle for the rest of the night. However, the moment he was done with his snack on Monday Tony was quick to offer an opportunity for the kid to bounce back from his previous mishap. Eagerly asking him if he wanted to go to the park once he was done eating. Peter declined with a quiet."No, thank you."

The next day, Tony decided to take a different approach and asked Happy if he would try to get the kid back in the seat and the man happily agreed. Peter had become his buddy and was always up for spending time with him. So the moment he buckled his seat belt, he was smiling at him in the rearview mirror. "Your daddy told me that you got a new bike. Do you want to go with me to the park one day so you can show me how you're learning to ride it?", he asked but again, he politely declined.

Wednesday evening, Pepper came by the penthouse for dinner, greeting Peter with a hug and a kiss to his cheek. "Hi, Sweetheart. I heard you were learning how to ride a bicycle! Maybe one day we could go ride together because I love to ride bikes.", she said with her usual warm smile and calm demeanor but rather than making any promises, the boy asked if they could play a game of Candy Land before dinner.

For whatever reason, the boy's continuous refusal to try to ride the bike that he'd begged to learn how to ride was frustrating the shit out of Tony. He knew the kid could be stubborn but this he couldn't wrap his head around. The boy had spent over an hour learning how to fold a paper into a canoe with Nora. He must have tried crinkled up a dozen botched attempts before he finally got it right and he had been so proud of himself. He couldn't understand why this wasn't worth the same effort. Though he could admit that falling off of a bicycle and missing a pertinent fold were very different things and maybe his son just needed some... encouragement. 

"You know, Kiddo. It's okay to be nervous about getting back on your bike but I think you should give it a try.", he said as he sat down beside his son on the edge of the couch after school the next day.

Peter shook his head brought his brows together in determination. "I'll fall down again. It'll hurt."

"Probably.", Tony admitted, deciding that it was best not to lie. Chances were, the kid would fall again. Hopefully, not as hard because that had scared the shit out of both of them... but he _was_ likely to fall. He just needed the boy to see that it would be _worth it._ "Making mistakes, falling down... sometimes that's how we learn. You've got to put the work in.", he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I don't want to learn how to ride a bike if it's going to hurt, Daddy.", Peter replied seriously. 

"Once you get past the hard part, it'll be a lot of fun.", Tony returned as he wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders and pulled him in close.

For a few moments, it was quiet. If the look on Peter's face was any indication, it was because he was thinking. Tony didn't rush him and waited patiently for him to decide how to say or ask whatever was going through is head. Then he felt the child beside him begin to shift. "Did you ever fall off of a bike?", Peter asked and Tony cracked a smile. He had not fallen off of a bike but he'd certainly had his fair share of failures. Some comically so.

"Well, no. I was older than you when I learned but... you should have seen me trying to learn how to fly the Iron Man suits.", Tony said with a chuckle. "I crashed into cars, broke the ceiling and _almost_ caught everything on fire. It was an absolute disaster.", he said, relishing the way his son was smiling so broadly at him. "But I really, really wanted it to work so I kept trying it until I got it right. Actually, JARVIS? Can you play some of the Mark II trial footage for me?", he requested and soon the room was aglow with a collection of videos showing Tony testing out thrusters, being blow backward into walls, losing control and going in circles, and DUM-E dousing him with Flame retardant. Peter giggled the whole time. "You think that's funny, do you?"

"A little bit. Did you get hurt?", Peter asked with another small fit of giggles and Tony was sure that was his favorite sound in all the world.

"A little bit.", Tony said with a nod of his head but the reminiscent smile never left his face. "It was worth it though. If I had given up... there would be no Iron Man."

More silence followed but soon Peter was burrowing further into Tony's side. "I'm a little bit scared.", he whispered almost too quietly to hear.

"It's okay to be a little bit scared. It's okay to be a lot a bit scared. That's part of being brave. Being scared but pushing through and doing it anyway because you know you'll be better off for it.", Tony explained as he rubbed a soothing hand up and down his son's back. He wanted to say more. He wanted to say that there was a fine line between being brave and being fucking stupid but he figured that conversation could wait. Though he really fucking hoped that conversation wasn't ever going to be necessary _but oh, little did he know..._

Peter sighed. "It's just a bike ride..."

"It's a bike ride that you were excited to participate in.", Tony kindly pointed out. 

"That's not the same as you flying the Iron Man Armor.", Peter returned and it took a few moments for Tony to decide how to reply to that because it wasn't exactly the same. He did, however, believe that it was equitable. Getting that damn suit to fly had taken some serious perseverance and determination and as funny as that montage had been, while in the moment some of that shit had been scary as fuck. Sure his experience had been far more complicated and dangerous than learning to ride a bike but that didn't matter. That didn't make his challenge any more important than Peter's and he wanted his son to know that his feelings were _valid,_ something his dad had _never_ done for him.

"No... but just like flying the Iron Man suit was a big deal to me, riding the bicycle is a big deal to you.", Tony simply replied and then used two of his fingers to lift his son's chin so that they were meeting eyes. "Now. You have a decision to make.", he said with a smile. "Are you going to let a skint knee stop you from learning how to ride that bike or are you going to be brave and try again."

"I'm going to be brave like you.", Peter said with a firm nod of his head.

Tony smiled and reached over to ruffle the boy's hair before. "That's my boy.", he whispered with enough fucking pride that he thought his chest might burst and then stood up to grab his keys and take his son's hand. "Let's go get your helmet."


	3. Deep Breaths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets his asthma diagnosis but not before scaring the shit out of Tony.
> 
> **Medical inaccuracies, People because I am SO not a doctor. But seeing as we are all about fiction here... I figured I could wing it a little. Special thanks to WebMD and my nurse friend who went to all the trouble of pointing out some of my mistakes so that I could ignore her completely in favor of story progression. 😂**

Some days it seemed like the bought with bronchitis they'd dealt with at the end of the previous school year never truly cleared up. Tony had taken Peter back to the pediatrician several times for a lingering cough but it wasn't until the kid's lips had damn near turned blue during a vigorous game of tag that the doctor decided to refer them to a nearby pediatric asthma specialist. The entire chain of events scared the absolute shit out of Tony but he'd managed to keep his outward appearance calm and collected. All the way up until the boy was at school the next day.

The second Pepper walked into his office the next morning, asking him how Peter was doing, he let out the breath that he felt like he'd been holding for the last twenty-four fucking hours. "I swear to god, Pepper, I thought he was _going to die_. I had no idea what was happening. I thought he was choking on something at first but that didn't make any sense and just as I was about to dial fucking nine-one-one, he started breathing a little better. Not great, he still sounded like The Walking Dead, but he was _breathing_.", he said before taking another deep breath. He knew he was rambling but he couldn't help it. He'd been internally freaking out since it had happened and by the time he'd calmed the steroid-hyped child enough to get him to go to sleep, he'd been exhausted. He ended up sending a 'Cliff's Notes' style text to keep her in the loop but this had been his first opportunity to really let it all out. "The Pediatrician said he would work us in as soon as I got there and then all the guy does is hook him up to a nebulizer... _again_... then tells me that I need to take him to see a fucking specialist. A specialist, Pepper. He's been telling me for months that it's _just_ a case of 'mild asthma' now all of a-fucking-sudden it's so bad that he can't handle it in-house? What the _actual_ fuck?"

By then he had already dropped his head down into his palms but when he felt a soft hands on his shoulders he looked up at Pepper's steadying smile. "Calm down Tony. I'm sure this is all standard procedure. The pediatrician is great for check-ups and vaccinations but we have specialists for a reason. You're always saying you don't do ' _squishy science_ ' so how about you take step back and trust that the doctor, who has been taking care of your kid for literally his entire life, knows what he's doing.", she calmly expressed and all Tony could do was sigh. She was right. She was always fucking right and usually, it was annoying but in this case, he decided that he would take it.

"How can you be this calm and logical about this?", he groaned while her gentle fingers continued to massage his tense neck.

"Because somebody should be.", Pepper came back with mild sarcasm. "When's the appointment?"

"Thursday... while you're in Bejing.", Tony miserably pointed out as he leaned into her prodding touches. "Happy agreed to come with us though. I swear the guy is becoming my other wife.", he casually added, not realizing what had come out of his goddamned mouth until it was too late.

He felt Pepper's fingers pause in their ministrations and counted the silent seconds up to four before she finally said anything. " _Other_ wife?", she asked sounding amused.

Still trying to get his heart to fucking slow down and maybe stop skipping beats, Tony tried to come up with a good response that wouldn't make him sound like a fucking idiot. He failed. Miserably. "Not that I currently have _any_ wives, I just, I mean I was referring to...", he stumbled before giving up completely with a whispered, "Shit, mother fucker."

Without missing a beat Pepper gave his neck one last firm squeeze and then leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you too, Honey but I need to get back to work.", she said as though nothing had happened. He could not for the life of him decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

For two days, Tony fretted about that damn appointment. He'd sent the kid to school with a note to get him out of gym class and restrict him to passive play while outside. He'd kept an overly close eye on his son's breathing and had reminded Happy at least six times when the appointment was. By the time Thursday had rolled around he was so on edge that even Peter could sense it.

"What's wrong, Daddy?", Peter asked as they rounded the corner into the large parking lot beside the expansive physicians building that was home to multiple childhood disease specialist. _Childhood disease specialist_. That name alone was enough to make waves of anxiety creep up his Tony's spine but he made and effort to reel it the fuck in.

"Nothing, Buddy. Just... really excited to see what this new doctor is going to tell us.", he lied and he could hear Happy sitting beside him trying to stifle a laugh. He would have slugged him in the arm if the kid hadn't been sitting right there.

Peter huffed a breath through his nose and frowned. "I don't want a new doctor. I like my old one.", he grumbled. Though the kid had already made it very clear that he was against going any appointments with any doctors he didn't know. That's part of the reason why Tony had never changed pediatricians when he'd taken over Peter's care. He knew he could have hired the creme of the crop to come to do house calls in the medical bay that now occupied several of the tower's many floors but he didn't. He'd chosen to keep as many things as he could _consistent._

"I know you do and I promise you'll still see him for other stuff.", Tony promised just as he was turning the car off and beginning to open his door. "This one is for that cough that doesn't want to go away."

The next hour was spent in a brightly colored waiting room much like the one at the pediatrician's office except this one was covered wall to wall with various posters depicting the lungs and airways. Then there were all of the pamphlets filled with various bits of medical mumbo jumbo dumbed down just enough to make the average person believe that they understood it. Despite the fact that soft science wasn't really his thing he was sure he understood more of it than most people and some of it was scary as shit. Talk of things like medication side effects, longer-term lung damage from failure to treat, and a crap ton of graphics and statistics. Even Happy looked uncomfortable reading them and he was typically a solid mass of stoic energy.

They were eventually called back and Tony was asked to complete a paper with at least a hundred tick boxes on it. Some of the questions were about early childhood and he felt like utter shit for now knowing some of the answers but the doctor assured him that even if he had to skip a few, that he had more than enough background information from Peter's regular physician. The conversation that followed is how he learned that his son had been premature, had gotten tubes in his ears when he was three and that he'd been hospitalized for pneumonia when he was five. 

Part of him wondered how he'd not been made aware of any of that. Why nothing of that nature had even come up in conversation. Or why none of it had been mentioned in the extensive list of shit that May and Ben had written out for him. _Or course, he knew why._ Medical histories weren't exactly dinner topics and they'd had no idea that when they had left their nephew with him for the week that it would end up being permanent. They just didn't know... That didn't stop him from being upset about it, though. It seemed like there was an unending list of things that he didn't fucking know about his own son.

That appointment was followed up with another, less pleasant one that involved a battery of lung function tests, an allergen scratch test, a large dose of Benedryl and a lot of fucking tears. All of that made the subsequent appointment that much harder for Tony to drag the kid too. The only way he'd managed to get him into the car without crying was to promise a trip to the ice cream parlor if he was super brave and let the doctor look him over but on the plus side, Pepper was able to come as well. That meant that she could share in the misery that his son was so determined to spread.

"I hate this doctor.", Peter whined as he sat on the paper-lined table in the small exam room. 

"I know, Baby.", Tony said as he hopped up onto the table beside his son. "Hopefully we won't have to come back for a while after this.", he added with a sigh as he looked towards Pepper for support. God, he was glad she was there. Especially when the doctor came in carrying a fucking armload of papers and boxes. Taking a deep breath, he gestured towards the stack and raised an eyebrow. "Decided to bring half the stock room in here with you?"

The doctor chuckled good-naturedly and gave a gentle smile before turning his attention to his small patient. "I have quite a bit of stuff to talk to you guys about Peter.", the man said kindly and Tony watched as his son nodded his head and allowed the man to continue. "If you have a question at any point, you can stop me and I'll answer it for you. Sound good?", he asked and Tony could feel the boy's weight fall into his side. 

From there, the first part of the conversation remained basic so that Peter could be as involved as he wanted to be. Of course, he didn't ask anything but Tony hadn't really expected him too. He knew that all of the questions that were building up in his head as the doctor spoke would come up later. Probably at fucking bedtime. That seemed to be the kid's favorite time of day to ask questions that he couldn't rightly ignore. 

The doctor went over the scratch test results and told them that they were very lucky because all of the reactions had been mild. That meant that he was leaning towards a non-allergy form of Asthma. He went on to explain the different possible triggers, such as exercise, changes in the weather, and stress before moving on towards the 'Asthma Action Plan', he'd put together. Tony wanted to roll his eyes at the name but he didn't. He was sure that it was to gain the attention of the child who was at the heart of the entire discussion and it worked. Peter seemed to perk up a little after hearing that. He could see his son's nose twisting in thought as the doctor started unboxing things.

The man pulled out a peak flow meter and showed them all how to use it and immediately commented on the fact that all three times Peter blew into it, the arrow landed at the top of the 'yellow zone', which meant that 'his lungs were acting up'. That led to the explanation of the daily tablet that the kid would take to help keep things under control and the inhaler he would use on the 'yellow zone' days. Then there was the 'emergency' inhaler that would be prescribed in case, Peter had another 'attack'. It was all very overwhelming but Tony nodded along the whole time. 

By the end of the appointment, several questioned had been asked and Tony felt much more informed and in control. Which was nice because he really fucking hated the anxiety that came from _not_ feeling informed and in control. Though his last question still came out sounding hesitant. Probably because he could decide if he really wanted to hear the answer.

"So... will he outgrow all of this?", he asked as the doctor began to write a few last minutes notes onto the chart.

"He could.", the man said with a nod of his head. "Some children do, some don't. There's about a fifty percent chance that he'll outgrow most of his symptoms but chances are he'll always be a little more at more susceptible to chest colds and thing of that nature but really, Mr. Stark, you and your son are very lucky. His case is extremely straight forward and should be easy to manage. In fact, I won't need to see you guys again for six months unless you have some additional questions or his regular pediatrician recommends it."

Tony thought about that for the rest of the day. The doctor had said they were lucky. All he could think was that if this was fucking lucky then he felt sorry for the parents whose kids weren't so lucky and looking into how he could help. Within a few hours of getting home, he'd already researched and learned that the biggest struggle for a lot of families was _the cost_. Not all of the recommended treatments were covered by insurance and a single inhaler could cost upwards to three-hundred dollars. So, that's where he started. He found a charitable institution that helped cover those kinds of costs and set up a large recurring donation. 

That night Tony sat at the edge of the small twin-sized bed and started to go through the kid's nightly routine. He read a book, asked the kid if he needed to pee again before being tucked in and then leaned in to kiss him on the head. Except before he could do so, Peter sat up. Tony rolled his eyes in return because he'd know that was happening. The kid had been stewing on everything all day and had just _predictably_ decided that it was a good time to start asking questions.

"Daddy? Am I going to have to do the elephant mask still?", the little boy asked and Tony smiled. They both hated that mask and the fifteen minutes of sitting still that came with it.

"Nope.", he said with confidence before amending slightly. "Well, maybe if you get sick but the idea is to get things to where you're not having to use that all the time anymore." Peter nodded his head and smiled widely, making Tony feel oddly concerned about what on Earth the next question could possibly be. 

"Do I get to carry the emergency inhaler to school?", the kid asked with excitement, that he really couldn't wrap his brain around because what part of having your lungs literally trying to fucking quit on you was exciting?

Sighing deeply, Tony ran his hand through the boy's hair. "No, Buddy. You'll have it in the nurse's office.", he said. He actually would have preferred the kid have it on him at all times but the doctor had insisted that he would probably only use it a handful of times a year and the school didn't allow their elementary-aged students to carry around prescriptions anyway. Then he realized the kid's smile had faded into a frown and shook his head. "What is it, Bubs?"

Peter sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I wanted to show it to Ned.", he grumpily replied making Tony roll his eyes. At least _someone_ thought all of this mess was fun and appealing. 

"Well, you can show him when he comes over some time.", Tony said with a flippant wave of his hand but he made a mental note to keep any and all medication in a place where they couldn't use their grabby little hands to get to it. Those two boys had proved _on more than one occasion_ that they couldn't be trusted to not do stupid things when left alone together. That was something he really fucking hoped would change as they got older, though he wasn't willing to put any money on it... they were a mess.

"I'm just glad I don't have to do the elephant mask anymore.", Peter added with glee and that part, Tony could whole-heartedly agree with.

"Me too, Buddy.", he said and waited a few seconds to see if his son had anything else to say. When he didn't he smoothed out his blankets and ruffled the boy's hair. "That's it? No more questions?", he asked. Peter shook his head. "Need to pee?", he double-checked but that was met with another negative so he leaned in and kissed the kid on the forehead. "Alrighty. In that case, good-night, I love you.", he said and then turned out the lamp. 

~o~o~o~o~o~

True to the doctor's word, things were easily controlled. The older Peter got the fewer symptoms he showed. Eventually, they got to the point where daily medication was no longer necessary but that didn't mean that it was all rainbows and fucking cupcakes. Peter still had to carry an inhaler with him and they dealt with at least one or two rounds of bronchitis every single year. All the way up until the kid turned thirteen. It was around that time when all evidence that the kid had ever even had asthma came to a seemingly sudden halt and Tony could _finally stop worrying._ Little did he know that there would soon be a plethora of new worries to replace that one.


	4. Muffins with Mom

When Peter came home from school looking unhappy, Tony sighed and swapped the bag of pre-portioned baby carrots for a cup of chocolate pudding. "Hey, Pete.", he said when the boy had returned from washing his hands. "Pudding cup for your troubles?", he then asked as he slid the snack down the bar, hoping to get a giggle out of the child but it didn't work. The kid simply climbed up onto the stool and dropped his head down onto the counter. "Are you having a sad day?", he inquired next because even though those were few and further between, they still happened sometimes and those days were always hard on both of them.

"No.", Peter sighed out as he sat up and forced a smile. "I'm okay. I'm only sad about one thing."

Tony sighed because the kid had been through so much shit that apparently he'd decided that _not_ having _multiple_ things to be upset about was a perfectly, fucking acceptable way to end the day. Then he'd faked a smile and that just made his heartache for the kid. "Anything that makes you sad is a big deal, Buddy. What are you sad about?", he asked and watched as his son's face dropped a little.

"I can't have a muffin at school on Friday.", the boy finally said with another deep sigh.

Having been prepared for something a little more... problematic, Tony was left feeling a little confused. At least partially because the kid didn't eat breakfast at school. That and they regularly had muffins in the kitchen. It was a quick breakfast that the boy could get for himself on the weekends. "Huh?", he finally asked after waiting several seconds for more information and not receiving any.

"Here, I'll show you.", Peter said as he slid off of the stool and wandered over to his backpack to pull out his parent communication folder. The one that Tony was supposed to check daily but he only ever remembered it existed about once a fucking week. "See, I can't have one.", the boy reiterates after setting down a bright pink sheet of paper that said, ' _Muffins with Mom'_ in front of him _._ Tony read the flier over three fucking times before frowning. No wonder his son was upset. 

"Well, maybe I can go with you instead.", Tony offhandedly suggested. He wasn't sure he really wanted to sit around with a bunch of women he didn't know. They probably just stare at him for being there and invading their fucking space or something but if it would make his kid happy, he could put up with it. Then he watched as his son rolled his eyes and couldn't decide if he was supposed to correct that or not. He rolled his eyes on a regular fucking basis. It would probably be hypocritical. 

"You can't go because you're not a lady. My teacher said that it had to be a lady, like a mom or a grandma or something and that _you_ could come when it was Donuts with Dad Day.", the boy told him with a huff but he could see the tears welling up in his eyes. God, he was starting to rub off on the poor kid and was eager to put a fucking stop to that. 

Deciding that he was going to focus on the kid's _actual_ feelings on the matter, Tony softened his tone and placed a hand on his son's cheek. "You can be sad about that, Buddy.", he said and readied himself to catch any tears that might escape. "...but if it'll make you feel better, you and I can go to the bakery that makes the giant chocolate chip muffins you love so much that morning. We'll take our time, I can sign you in late. It'll be just you and me. Muffins with Dad Day.", he offered and as expected he saw the boy's lip start to tremble. 

"It's not the same. Everybody else is going to get to eat breakfast on pink paper napkins in the big conference room. Ned's Mommy is coming and I want to be able to go too.", Peter rapidly spat out while trying to stave off the impending tears.

Giving his son a smile, Tony nodded his head and caught a small tear with his thumb. "I hear you, Baby. We'll figure something out, alright?", he promised and shortly after he was in his office emailing the school. Though he was less than impressed with the message he received in return. He'd suggested that they drop the whole mom and dad crap and just make it 'Pancakes with Parents' or 'Fritter with Family' or some shit. He didn't care he just didn't appreciate the way they were making his kid feel bad about not having mom and he had a really hard time believing that this son was the only one living in a single-parent household. However, the school didn't seem to give a singular fuck. Some bullshit about how the name of the event was somewhat irrelevant and that any important female family member was welcome to attend. That the premise of the two separate events was to encourage bonding between the child and the strong female or male presence in their lives. 

Tony dwelled on that response for several goddamned hours. The message had said ' _female family member_ ' making him feel painfully aware that it was really just him and the kid. There were no other family members. Not l _egal ones_ anyway, not even a second cousin twice removed. It did, however, continue to nag at him that explanation had also used the words ' _strong female presence_ ' and that the kid _did have_. He had Pepper. They had all grown close and begun to meld into their own weird little unofficial family unit. He just wasn't sure how Peter or Pepper would feel about attending an event labeled 'Muffins with Mom' together but he figured he'd start by mentioning it to Pepper. Which was easy enough, as he looked up to find her hurrying past his office. "Hey, you have a minute?"

Pepper paused in her steps and glanced down at her watch. "I have several minutes actually but unfortunately I need to use all of them getting to the conference room for a meeting with the promotions department.", she said with a sigh as she shuffled the large stack of papers she had in her arms. 

Realizing that she was in a hurry, Tony saddled up beside her. "I'll walk with you, then.", he suggested as he took a few of the items off of her hands, waiting until they had begun walking before nonchalantly broaching the subject. "The kid has a thing on Friday and--"

"--It's fine, Tony.", Pepper hurridly replied without ever hearing him out. She was in a rush and didn't have time to questions the man's motives. "I'll just reschedule whatever meeting you're trying to get out--"

"--It's not like that, Pepper.", Tony returned with a roll of his eyes. He supposed that was fair. He may have _once or twice_ used the kid as an excuse to get out of some borning as fuck meetings. It just so happened that avoidance wasn't his current goal. "I need _you_ to go with him. I mean maybe. I haven't talked to him about it yet, it's just an idea and--", he rambled, suddenly feeling unsure about what he was about to ask. _What he was about to imply._ Though he seemed to have grabbed her attention, she'd paused outside the conference room door to look at him.

"--What is it?", Pepper asked with a curious sparkle in her eyes.

"Muffins with Mom.", Tony returned trying to sound as completely fucking casual as possible. When she didn't so much as blink, he took a breath and continued. "He's upset that he can't go and the school doesn't give a singular shit. They said that the entire bullshit event was to ' _encourage the children to bond with the strong female presence in their lives_ '", he lightly mocked before pausing to try and decide how to proceed. "...and well, that's you.", he uttered with confidence. "You're the female presence in his life." 

Unable to hold back the smile that was pulling at her lips, Pepper nodded her head. "I'm... I'm flattered that you think of me that way but are you sure Peter will be okay with that?", she asked.

Tony shrugged his shoulders and started to hand her the things that he'd helped to carry down the hallways. "As I said, I haven't had a chance to mention it to him yet. Figured I would make sure it was okay with you before I started offering up your time."

Nodding her head, Pepper glanced over her shoulder towards the room full of co-workers who were waiting for her and then back to Tony. "I can always make time for Peter."

"I appreciate that, Ms. Potts.", Tony teased because that was easier than saying any of the sappy shit that was coming to mind. Like how he was glad she was there to play surrogate mother to his son or how he hoped that one day they could become a legally bound family. "It starts at eight."

Ignoring the evasive formalities, Pepper smiled softly and shifted her armload from one side to the other. "I'll go ahead start moving things around but if he's not comfortable with this then please don't force it. I don't want him, to feel like I'm... inserting myself anywhere.", she hesitantly spoke. She knew how much the child had been through. How many parental figured he'd lost. She also knew how hard it had been for the boy to start calling Tony, Daddy. She didn't want him to feel pressured into accepting her as anything other than a friend. If it was going to come, she wanted it to come in its own time.

"You're not inserting yourself anywhere.", Tony returned with a smile and a shake of his head "You're part of our weird-ass, little, pieced together family whether you like it or not.", he added before kissing his girlfriend on the lips and heading back to his office still smiling.

Later that afternoon, after Peter had come home and was repacking his bag from where he'd completed his homework, Tony sat down beside him. "Hey, Pete. I heard from your school today.", he said softly and was slightly surprised when the boy stiffened beside him.

"I didn't do anything.", Peter said as he stared down at his bag, still haphazardly stuffing his folders back inside.

Tilting his head to the side, Tony looked the boy over and raised an eyebrow. "I never said you did, kiddo but you're looking awfully guilty... something you need to tell me?", he asked with a chuckle. He already knew the kid hadn't done anything. He would have gotten a phone call. They fucking loved to call him. In fact, he was pretty sure his number was on speed dial.

"No. I _really_ didn't do anything. What did they say?", the boy defensively whined.

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes and patted the boy on the back. "Calm down, Kiddo. It was about the muffins thing.", he said and when he felt his son relax he smiled to himself. "Anyway, after getting a few more details... I was thinking that maybe you could ask Pepper to go with you."

At first, all Peter did was chew on his lip a habit that seemed to be slowly replacing the finger chewing. It was really only slightly better as far as Tony was concerned but at least it didn't leave the kid's fingers covered in spit. Then the boy took a deep breath and stared down at the countertop. "She's not my Mom and she's not like Aunt May.", he whispered and Tony heart skipped a fucking beat. He'd really thought this was a good idea and now he was worried that he'd upset his son.

"No.", he replied with less panic that he was feeling and hesitated for several seconds before trying to explain his reasoning. "...but she loves you and she's important to us... right?"

That question seemed to get Peter thinking as his nose twisted in thought. "Mm-hmm. She's fun and gives good hugs.", he finally stated, still looking slightly unsure but no longer on the verge of upset with Tony considered a fucking win. He wasn't sure the school would have enjoyed his round two of 'why 'Muffins with Mom' is a shit-ass fucking idea'.

Later that evening, Pepper came over for dinner. Peter finished his plate in record time and was soon urging the adults to come to sit down to play Candyland with him. Somewhere around the end of the game, the kid scooted a little bit closer to Pepper, making Tony smile. He was wondering if the kid was working himself up to asking her about Friday morning. He wanted to pat himself on the fucking back when not even five minutes later, the boy spoke up. Sometimes it just felt good to be ablet o see how well he knew his son. 

"Pepper? Can I ask you a question.", the little boy asked as he hugged his knees to his chest almost as if they would be a good buffer.

"I'm all ears, sweetheart.", Pepper kind replied, keeping her attention partially on the game so as not to put any pressure on the boy.

With a deep sigh, Peter took his turn and Tony looked on as his son continued to hold tightly onto his legs. He was just about to tell him that he was okay when the boy finally issued his inquiry. Though, the wording had been biting back a small laugh. "Do you want to come to my school with me on Friday for 'Muffins with Mom'? It's okay that you're not really mom. Daddy checked.", Peter said in a firm nod of his head.

Pepper, of course, agreed and when the game was over she hugged Peter tight before he was being shewed down the hall to get ready for bed. Dinner and board games as a set of three was nice but Tony looked forward to his alone time with Pepper. _Especially_ on the nights that she chose to stay after the kid's bedtime. 

~o~o~o~o~o~

When Friday morning arrived, Tony woke Peter up at the asscrack of dawn and for the first time fucking _ever_ , the kid hopped out of bed, eager to get ready for school. With no prompting, he chose to wear his 'nice jeans' and a button-down and had been happily chattering from the moment his eyes opened. 

As the time for Pepper to arrive to take the boy to school approached, Tony forced his son to sit the fuck down for five seconds so he could go over everything with him once more. This would be the first time that Peter would be spending any amount of time with Pepper outside his or Happy's presence and he wanted to make sure the kid was going to be on his best behavior. Not that he really needed to worry about that so much as he wanted the child to calm the shit down for a moment. He was driving him up a wall. "Alright, Kiddo. Pepper's going to be here soon. Do you remember what we talked about?", he asked, referring to the extensive conversation they'd had the night before.

"Yep. I'm going to give her the flower I picked out.", Peter happily announced as he clutched the singular carnation he'd chosen at florist the day before. Tony had tried to talk him into something a little more exotic but the kid had made up his mind that a pink carnation was pretty and that had been that. 

"What else?", Tony prompted because the flower was the least of his concerns. The kid wasn't about to forget that part. He'd been holding it for the last ten minutes, he was surprised it wasn't fucking crushed or suffocated. 

Peter nodded and bounced a little on the couch cushion, ginning with pride. "I'm going to be a gentleman and open the door for her like you do.", he said and Tony nodded his head, they were getting closer but rather than pushing any further he decided to just repeat the _more pertinent_ instructions. 

"...and have good manners like always. Even if Ned is being silly, right?", Tony probed while placing a hand on his son's jittery leg. 

"Yes, sir.", Peter replied at the exact same time that Pepper walked in and Tony wasn't even sure the kid knew what he was agreeing to at that point. He'd nearly hit him in the face with his elbow scurrying off the couch so that he hand over his prized flower.

"Why, Thank you, Peter. That was really sweet of you.", Pepper said as she smelled the carnation and then kissed Peter on the cheek. After that, there were several good-byes and then the pair were out the door. 

When they arrived at the school, Peter did as promised and stopped Pepper from opening the front door so that he could do it instead. Then he smiled and eagerly announced, "Daddy said to be a gentleman.", as she followed him through the entryway.

"Well, he can be a pretty smart guy.", Pepper replied, feeling both surprised and unsurprised all at once. As far as she knew, Tony wasn't much of a gentleman himself, well, prior to her. She found it intriguing that the man would be so intent to teach his son something that had only just become a habit for himself but it was nice. _Fatherly._

Then her thoughts were interrupted as they walked into a neatly set up room that had several mother's sitting around with their children, eating pre-packaged muffins off of pink napkins. "Look! There's Ned and his Mommy!", Peter pointed out before grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the familiar-looking child and his mother, insistently shouting, "Come on, Pepper!", as he did so. 

While the entire event had only lasted about twenty-two minutes, it had been fun. Peter and Ned sang silly songs and talked about cartoons while Pepper and Ned's mother listened with interest and jumped in when they could. Everyone in the room seemed to be enjoying their time together. When it was all said and done, Peter took Pepper's hand, walked her towards the front door and thanked her for coming with him.

"Thank you for inviting me.", Pepper said in return and then leaned down so that the boy could wrap his arms around her neck, allowing him to stay that way as long as he wanted. He didn't let go until the bell rang and students were being encouraged to make their way towards their classrooms. "You ave a good day at school today, sweetheart and I'll see you soon.", she stated as the boy let go and adjusted his backpack on his shoulder before leaning in for one more quick hug.

"I will, Pepper!", Peter uttered into her shoulder before releasing his hold and taking off towards his classroom. Though, he only took about three strides before he paused to look over his shoulder with a smile and shouted, "Bye! I love you!", before, once again, hurrying in his steps.

Slightly taken aback by those words, Pepper stood there smiling with affinity as she watched the child disappear into the crowd. Then, she shook her head and declared, "I love you too, Peter.", before turning around and walking out the door feeling more than ever like she really was a part of Tony and Peter's little family.


	5. A Stitch to the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Against every recommendation, Jojo ends up going to school for 'Stuffies and Stories Day'. When the stuffed rabbit ends up in the wrong hands, Peter falls apart. Luckily things can be pieced back together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys... I started a Tumblr. I have no idea how it works... I mean I sort of know how it works... but at the same time, I don't. My fifteen year old thinks it's hilarious and now I feel really old. It's fine though. We're good. If you're interested, the link is in my profile and if you have any advice on what I'm supposed to be doing with said account, please, by all means, get in contact with me there. I need to practice navigating it anyway. 😂  
> Yay, self-isolation project!

"Pete... I understand that your teacher said to bring your favorite stuffed animal but I really think that you should pick a different one.", Tony pressed as he watched his son definitely hold his prized stuffed rabbit to his chest. The school had decided that the best way to promote literacy was to allow the kids to spend an entire day reading to their stuffed animals. Peter was excited about it while Tony had already decided that it was a shit idea.. _.on so many levels._

For starters, if Peter was any indication, then the loss of a 'favorite stuffed animal' would lead to an all-night melt-down. Maybe longer. He never wanted to find out. The other thing that immediately went through his head was the amount of dust, drool, and germs trapped in the faux fur. He made a point of washing Jojo, along with all of the kid's other plush toys, as often as he could get away with it. Which was not as often as he would have liked. Flooding the room with random stuffed animals sounded gross.

"...but Jojo is my favorite and I want to bring him. I'll be extra careful, I promise.", Peter pleaded despite Tony's firm tone.

For a few seconds, Tony crossed his arms over his chest, while simultaneously reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He hated being the bad guy but, for fuck's sake, the last thing he wanted was for some other kid to try and hold the rabbit and Peter to retaliate. He was pretty sure all 'no hitting' rules would go out the fucking window at that point. "I'm not worried about you being careful. I'm worried about the other kids.", he said with exasperation but Peter wasn't giving in, not even in the slightest.

"I won't let anybody else touch him. Not even, Ned. Please, Daddy? Aunt May let me bring him to school one time!", Peter adamantly pointed out. 

While unable to dispute the fact that, yes, Aunt May had let him take the thing to school once, the circumstances were extremely different. "Yeah, so you could bring him here, Buddy. He stayed in your bag the whole time.", Tony said in an attempt to pacify but it wasn't working. Peter was still looking at him with a tight frown and squared shoulders. "You're not going to let this go, are you..."

"I just want to take him.", Peter whined. "It's Stuffies and Stories Day and I want to take my favorite one."

After giving it some thought, Tony gave in. Peter was a good kid. He was typically very protective of his toys and wasn't likely to misplace the stupid rabbit and as concerned as he was about _other kids_ touching it the boy didn't look like he was going to be moved on the subject. Besides, Happy would be there to drive him to school soon and they were running out of time to fucking argue about it. "You know what? I'm not going to stop you, Buddy but if something happens to him you're going to be really upset.", he said before once again gesturing towards the four or five other stuffed animals in the room. "You better think about this. Look at those.", he demanded and when the child had done so he continued by saying, "Now, look at me. Are you sure you want to take Jojo to school with you? Yes or no?"

"Yes. Nothing will happen.", Peter said with a cautious smile and all Tony could think as he nodded his head was that those were some fucking famous last words. 

~o~o~o~o~o~

Once Peter had left for school, Tony didn't really think much more about any of it. He was knee fucking deep in R&D shit while simultaneously dealing with Avengers crap. He'd just gotten off of the phone with Steve ' _I am the Symbol of America Freedom Don't Question me_ ' Rogers when JARVIS notified him that the school was calling. "Sure thing, J. Put it through, I'm ready.", he said in a tone that screamed, 'I am not ready but I'm going to psych myself up'.

"Sir, I believe we both know that you are not ready for this phone call but I shall put it through anyway. Good luck.", the AI replied with sarcasm. Actual fucking sarcasm. 

"This is Stark. What's up with the kid this time?", he tiredly inquired once the line had connected. He had long stopped trying to predict what the school was calling him about. The range of possibilities was entirely too broad. He'd been contacted about everything from, 'Peter is sick' to 'Peter is crying' all the way to, 'Peter needs a change of clothes.' The latter, having been an extra fucking delightful conversation. He hoped it wasn't _that_ again. The kid hadn't been able to look him in the eye for the rest of the day.

"Well, we seem to have a bit of a problem here.", the woman who's voice he instantaneously recognized as Dr. Davis' said.

"Oh god, what kind of a problem?", Tony groaned as he remembered the argument that he and the kid had gotten into over the stupid 'Stuffies and Stories Day' that morning. "This is about that stupid rabbit isn't it."

"I'm actually not clear what exactly this is about but I've been trying to work with him for the last half hour.", the woman said with remorse. "Unfortunately, I think you're going to need to come and pick him up. He's asking for you and honestly, there's no value in him staying here like this ."

Not feeling the need to inquire further, Tony sighed, agreed that he was on his way and began to fumble around for his keys. The second she had said that Peter was unconsolable he knew whatever it was had to do with Jojo and sent the entire drive trying to come up with a way to tell the boy, ' _I told you so_.' without actually fucking saying that. However, once he got into the main office and saw his son all blotchy faced from crying and curled up in a large armchair, clutching a tissue, he no longer had the desire to point out that this was exactly what he said would happen.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy.", he heard Peter stutter through his tears but noted that the child made no effort to run to him as he'd expected. Rather, he looked fucking guilty.

Kneeling down so that he could be eye-level with his child, Tony reach over to wipe the excessive tears away. "What are you apologizing for, Buddy? What happened?", he asked, no longer confident that the kid's emotional outburst had anything to do with the toy. 

"I didn't mean to hit Flash and I'm sorry.", Peter cried as he continued to curl in on himself.

A spark of anger flared in Tony's eyes and the mere mention of Flash's name. He didn't even have the capacity to be angry that his kid had apparently hit him because, quite frankly, the little shit had probably deserved it. Though rather than say anything, he gave the counselor a questioning look because she'd not mentioned anything about a fight when he'd spoken to her previously. 

"I was going to discuss that with you once you got here. Let's all step into my office.", the woman said as if she'd just read his mind.

Tony gave her a brief acknowledgment and turned back to his distraught child. "Shh. Hey, listen, Baby. I'm not mad I just need to know what happened. Can you calm down for me so I can hear what Dr.Davis needs to tell me.", he murmured while holding Peter protectively against his chest and when the sobs receded into silent tears he stood up, carrying Peter along with him into the office. "Alright, hit me.", he said cringing slightly at his choice in words.

Dr. Davis opted to get right down to business and slid the incident repost across the desk for Tony to read. "No one is one-hundred percent sure what exactly took place. The teacher was focused on another group of students and when she turned around, Peter was on top of another student, hitting him in the nose. The other student says that the action was unprovoked and while we don't, by any means, believe that, neither child has been willing to say what happened.", she calmly explained.

Instead of saying anything to the waiting counselor, Tony turned his attention to his kid. While he wasn't exactly known to be a tattle-tell, he'd never kept quiet about it when Flash had said hurtful things to him. The fact that he resorted to a physical altercation and was then unwilling to tell anyone what happened was beyond worrisome. Especially given the fact that the teacher was supposed to be keeping the little asshole separated from his son. "Pete?", he said softly in an attempt to coax some sort of story out of the boy. "Why won't you tell anyone what happened? What did he say to you this time?"

"I don't want to talk about it.", Peter grumbled and Tony let it go for the time being. He has several more pressing questions to ask.

"So what happens now? He's been harassing my kid for-damn-ever. It needs to stop.", he angrily asserted even though his aggravation wasn't meant to be directed towards the counselor. It was meant to be directed at the administration. He was really fucking tired of Flash making his kid cry. 

"We are working with the other student's par--", Dr. Davis started but Tony cut her off quickly.

"--Can we stop with the 'other student' bullshit. We all know it was Flash Thompson. It's always Flash Thompson. Every. Damn. Time.", he said with a wave of his hand.

"You know I can't use the other student's name but I can't stop Peter from telling you, which I know he has so you'll just have to fill in the blanks.", the woman said with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. " _The other student's_ parents are being contacted and there has been some discussion about transferring, said student, into another classroom."

From the very first day that he'd seen Flash's name on Peter's class roster, he'd kicked up a fuss. Maybe it was petty but he really fucking hated that kid and yes, he knew that hate was a strong word to use in conjunction with a third-grader but he didn't give a flying rats ass. "You want my opinion? Of course, you do because my opinion, as the parent of the child that's _continuously_ being picked on, should weigh pretty damn heavily... I want that kid out of the school. I want him as far away from my kid as possible. I am sick and tired of these kinds of discussions. Just put an end to it!"

Surprisingly the counselor didn't even flinch at his demands. She never did and part of him wondered if she secretly wanted to see the miniature asshole expelled as much as he did. "Regrettably, nothing the other student has done warrants explosion. I will note that you are in favor of moving the other student out of Peter's homeroom and being that we're only a few months into the school year that shouldn't be hard to advocate for. In the meantime, see if you can't get some sort of a story out of him", she said as she looked softly at the way Peter was still leaning on Tony's chest wiping at his eyes. "The more information we have the easier it's going to be to make that go through."

~o~o~o~o~o~

The plan was to not bring anything up until later. Partially because he wasn't sure he was ready to hear what had taken place and partially because Peter was still periodically sniffling in the backseat. He honest to fucking god had no intention of starting that conversation until after dinner but he inadvertently opened up an entire goddamned can of worms when they got home and he asked the kid to go ahead and get Jojo out of his backpack so that they didn't have to look for him later. 

The second he'd issued the request Tony saw his son stiffen and his heart dropped down into his stomach. Peter didn't move so he slowly made his way over to the backpack instead. As he started to unzip it, the kid lost his shit. "No! Don't look, Daddy!", his child hysterically shouted as he seemingly found his mobility and crashed into his legs, holding on tight, as if he had the strength to stop a grown man from moving.

Tony didn't stop. He reached into the bag and felt around for the plush and before he ever pulled it out he realized what the problem was. As he grasped around the rabbits middle he could feel the cotton protruding from where the threads had broken apart at the back seam. He could hear Peter screaming at him not to take it out but he did it anyway and once he had a good look at it, his heart broke. "Pete...", he sympathetically uttered. "Did... _oh god_... did Flash do this?"

"He didn't mean to!", Peter said, no longer screaming. Instead, he appeared to have resigned himself to the fact that what had happened was no longer a secret. "It was my fault."

"Did say that he could hold him?", Tony dubiously inquired.

"Well, no...", Peter returned without hesitation.

After some thought, Tony questioned the only logical scenario he could come up with because of course, Peter hadn't handed his rabbit to Flash. He would never. "He took your special rabbit, you tried to pull it out of his hand it ripped.", he observed more than questioned but Peter was nodding his head.

"Mhm and then I hit him.", Peter admitted with a pout.

Tony pulled Peter into his arms and carried him over to the couch where the child started to cry all over again. "I'm so sorry, Baby.", he whispered while rocking his son back and forth. It was definitely going to be an early bedtime kind of night. 

"You said not to take Jojo to school and I did.", Peter cried but Tony had long since lost the desire to place blame on anyone other than the kid who had dared touch his kid's things. "It's all my fault!"

"Look at me, Pete.", Tony firmly instructed. "We can fix this, okay? Not a problem. We can fix this."

"How!", Peter asked with wide, miserably hopeful eyes.

"With a needle and some thread. He'll be as good as new.", Tony said with a wave of his hand and a smile. At least the kid wasn't crying anymore. It was quite the opposite actually. The boy shifting around so that he could look up and smile.

"You can do that?", Peter asked.

Chuckling lightly, Tony leaned down and kissed his son on the head. "Well, no. ...but I know someone who can."

"Happy?", Peter proposed causing Tony to laugh. While he could clearly picture the man working on a cross-stitch project with Downtown Abbey playing in the background that wasn't who he had in mind.

"No.", Tony said, still trying to shake that image from his head. "I was thinking about Pepper.", he specified and watched the child's eyes light up as he asked if they could call her right then. Which they did and she put a huge meeting on hold just so that she could come up to help mitigate the crisis. She walked in with a small sewing bag and ushered them all to the kitchen table where she didn't just fix Jojo but taught both Tony and Peter how to fix him as well. They sat there for over twenty minutes passing around the thread and the torn toy each assisting in the repair. When it was all done and Peter was hugging Jojo Close, Pepper smiled at him. "Good as new, right?", she asked.

Both adults looked on as Peter ran his finger over the jagged and uneven sutures. "He's not broken anymore but can still see where he _was_ broken.", he said with a forlorn smile.

"Like a scar.", Pepper reasoned, glancing up briefly to make eye-contact with Tony because it felt as though they were no longer talking about just a stuffed rabbit. "Sometimes we get hurt but even after everything is okay again, there's still that little reminder of what happened."

"I don't want to remember it. I wish it didn't happen. The stitches are ugly.", Peter complained, one small tear trickling down his cheek.

"They're not ugly, they're different...", Pepper explained. "...and those stitches are special because we all worked on them together. Every one of those stitches was sewn with love.", she finished and took Tony's hand in hers as they watched Peter quietly allow the explanation to resonate.

A few contemplative moments later, Peter looked down at Jojo's back once more and sighed. "Yeah. I guess so.", he whispered with a small smile, once again touching the place where the tear had been imperfectly repaired.

From that day forward, it became a habit for Peter to rub his thumb up and down the lovingly mended seam as he fell asleep, an action that led to the several more necessary repairs over the next few years. Though as he became older, Jojo spent less and less time in his hands and was eventually retired to sit proudly on a teenaged Peter's dresser. A shining beacon of parental love.


	6. Grounded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter acts out and for the first time ever, Tony finds himself in the position of disciplinarian and it breaks his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for Malya and the unregistered user who requested a story where Peter gets grounded.

As Tony sat down in his favorite chair, he took a deep breath and sighed. It was quiet. Being a Saturday meant that Peter had been home all day and had been chattering up a storm. That in and of its self wasn't terribly bothersome but he'd also accompanied Peter to another child's birthday party at a bowling alley. That had been overwhelmingly loud and fucking chaotic. In fact, it made the party he'd held for his own kid look like a goddamned dream. 

As they had left the party, Peter, who had already been hyped up on cake had then been handed a bag full of little bag of party favors for the ride home. Of course, Tony hadn't realized that the bag had been filled with a bunch of individually wrapped candies until they'd gotten home and he'd opened the back door of the car only to be greeted by a green-lipped and sticky-fingered child. 

Tony had half-heartedly gotten on to his son for not asking before consuming the excessive treats but hadn't really thought much of it at the time. Peter was a kid and that's what kids did. They ate candy and cake and ice cream whenever they were given the chance. It wasn't until he really started thinking about it that he realized that maybe he was being a bit too lenient on the child but at the same time, the boy was pretty well behaved. He didn't act out in public and frankly, Peter's manners were above and beyond his own. It was a fucking miracle that the boy still had manners after living with him for so long, really. Which made it that much easier to brush off things like not asking before eating a bag of candy that had been outright handed to him. 

In fact, when he thought about it, he couldn't think of a singular time that he'd ever had to legitimately punish his son for anything. They'd had to have a little chat here and there but all in all the kid was just a really good kid. Even in a bad mood, the child cried more so than he shouted and he always apologized, whether it was necessary or not. In fact, the last real outburst he'd had to deal with had been months prior when Peter had inadvertently kicked him while trying to avoid being pulled out of bed for school. Of course, it had later come to light that the boy had been sick and at that point, worry had replaced the aggravation. All of that is why he was so surprised just a few days later when he found himself standing in sitting of his son with his lips pursed and his arms crossed over his chest. 

It shouldn't have been a big fucking deal but for some unknown reason, it had been. All he'd asked the kid to do was to pick up the three-hundred-and-eighty-five fucking thousand lego bricks up off of the living room floor. Something he'd asked the child to do many times before without fuss, leaving him ill-prepared for the tantrum that followed. He'd walked into the room, surveyed the clutter and casually asked the boy to scoop up what he wasn't using so that they wouldn't get stepped on.

"Okay, Daddy.", Peter had distractedly replied as he continued to sit there on his knees, snapping together all of the tiny as shit pieces. 

Taking the kid at his word Tony had settled down in his chair and picked up a tablet only to look up several minutes later to see the same goddamned mess. "Pete, pick them up kiddo. You're not going to be able to play with them out here if you're going to spread them all over the floor.", he mildly threatened. The kid had been fully engrossed in his building and well, he could understand that. That didn't mean that he was willing to allow his son to ignore his request though.

Without ever looking up, Peter began running his hands through the pile, seconds later plucking out the piece he'd been looking for. "I will. Just a minute.", he'd said after several seconds had passed.

With a deep sigh, Tony sat at the edge of his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Buddy I already gave you lots of minutes. I need you to follow directions now.", he said firmly but gently.

"I am!", Peter snapped back with a glare, clearly unhappy about the constant interruptions. 

Tony's eyes went monetarily wide with surprise. Typically his son only raised his voice when something was wrong. There was nothing to be particularly anxious about so he Leaned forward and placed his hand on the back of the boy's neck. When it wasn't overly warm he gave it a gentle squeeze. "You need to lower your voice, Pete. There's no need to shout. Just get your toys together, please.", he calmly repeated, taking the kid's snippy tone as a once-off. 

Shrugging Tony's hand off of his neck, Peter looked over his shoulder and glared. "I'm not shouting and I already told you I would do it in a minute!", the little boy groused but his volume was definitely lower than it had been. Even if the attitude was still there and it was the attitude that was currently grating on Tony's fucking nerves. He didn't allow adults to talk to him like. He certainly wasn't going to allow his kid to do it.

"Alright, that's it. Now you can put them all them away and take them back to your room. I'm not going to sit out here and listen to you throw a fit.", he clipped back, gesturing towards the toys.

"So don't!", Peter huffed back with his face a scrunched up in annoyance. However, it was the next words out of the boy's mouth that made Tony fucking snap. The kid turned his back and started playing again, mumbling, "I was here first, anyway.", as he did so. 

Tony was sure he'd never been as pissed off at the kid as he was right at that moment. Not when the kid had bitten him during a particularly bad meltdown. Not even when the kid had accidentally cleared an entire day's worth of coding from one of his projects. "What did you just say?", he questioned, his voice low and threatening. 

Looking as though he'd suddenly realized that he'd done the wrong thing, Peter' stiffened before hesitantly looking over his shoulder. "I, I ...", the child started to stutter and Tony didn't even feel bad about it. If anything the lack of instant response only pissed him off further and he knew that he needed to take a few moments to chill the fuck out before anything else was said.

"You know what? I don't want to hear.", Tony said in an attempt to hurriedly end the boy's failed explanation. "Just go to your room and I'll be in there to talk to you in a minute.", he added, wanting to put some distance between them while he thought everything through and wasn't the least bit shocked when his son hopped up and ran full speed towards his room. He was sure that despite his relatively calm tone, his face had to have been glowing with red hot, negative energy.

With the room quiet, Tony took several measured breaths and pinched the bridge of his nose. At first, he thought about how his dad would have backhanded for using such a tone with him but he would never hit Peter. Then he thought about Jarvis and how he would gently try to persuade him that maybe he'd been going about things the wrong way but the man had never disciplined him. He'd not needed to, his father was heavy-handed enough. His mother... she'd never really punished him either, probably for the same reason. Especially considering she'd never ratted him out to his father.

Shaking all thoughts of his less than ideal childhood out of his head, the next person that came to mind was Ben. He wondered what he would have done if Peter had ever behaved like that with him. Hell, he wondered if Peter _had_ ever behaved that way with him. They'd seemed like such a tight-knit family. Always happy and pleasant. He couldn't imagine Peter sassing his aunt or uncle, though he could only assume that it had happened from time to time. No one was perfect.

Several minutes, a few deep breaths, and quite a bit of internal debate later, Tony was pushing open the door to his son's room. At first glance, he thought the boy was asleep but then there were two big brown eyes looking up at him. "Peter Benjamin Parker-Stark.", he began as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'm not sure what you think you were doing back there but you don't talk to me like that.", he said and then startled a little when Peter rapidly scrambled into a sitting position in front of him, tears already welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry! I just... I was going to clean them up I swear!", the little boy strained as the first tear broke free and rolled down his cheek.

"That's not the point, kid.", Tony replied before turning to look briefly at the ceiling. It was a whole hell of a lot harder to even consider punishing the kid when he'd switched from angry shouts to tearful apologies. He knew he couldn't just let this one go, though. So, he took a deep breath and brought his eyes back down to meet his son's watery ones. "You back-talked me. You blatantly disobeyed me and then you were rude to me. That's not okay, Pete.", he explained and pressed his lips into a fine line as the child threw himself into his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

Swallowing down his own emotions, Tony reached up to rub his son's back as the child continued to press his face into his neck. "I'm sorry, Daddy! I'm really, really sorry.", the boy cried making him feel like utter shit for what he was about to say. 

"Sorry pal, but 'sorry's not going to get you out of this one.", he countered with remorse before hurrying into the rest of his speech while he still had the fucking guts to go through with it. "You're going to going to be laying in your bed, reading books until dinner time tonight. Then after you eat, you can clean that mess up off the floor and start getting ready for an early bedtime Tomorrow too. Homework and then books." 

"That's not fair!", Peter angry screeched and as fucked up as it was, Tony was relieved. If the kid was back to being screaming his goddamned lungs out, it would be much easier to follow through with everything he'd just said. It actually sort of solidified that he was doing the right thing.

"I can't let you behave like that, kid.", he returned with newfound conviction. He knew without a doubt that neither May nor Ben would ever forgive him if he allowed their kid to get away speaking to him as he had. If he was being honest he would never forgive himself either. The last thing he wanted was for Peter to grow up to be a little mini him. The world could only handle on Tony fucking Stark... Then his thoughts were abruptly jerked back to the present when Peter let go of his neck and flopped back down onto his pillows.

"Why are you being so mean to me!", the boy shouted as Tony began to stand up off of the bed. He chose not to acknowledge the comment, knowing that all that would do would be to spur a fight. He felt like a dick already, he didn't need to prove it by taking part in any petulant bickering. Instead, he walked towards the exit.

"If you need to use the bathroom, you can go do that but otherwise, you're in your bed reading.", he decided to clarify before closing the door because he wasn't trying to be a complete asshole. He knew damn well that even angry, Peter would take his instructions to heart and he didn't want that to end in any sort of disaster. Then another thought came to him, leading him to address his next concern. "...and you can have JARVIS call me if you need anything else.", he added just so that his son knew that he wasn't simply abandoning him there. The child still had some lingering separation anxiety and he certainly wasn't trying to trigger anything. However, the majority of his concern went right out the fucking window when the boy slammed his little fists down onto the bed. 

"I hate you!", Peter spat and the words went straight through Tony's fucking heart like a goddamn speeding bullet. His breath hitched, his eyes watered and all he could do was slowly close the door behind him. He'd always thought that the stupid as saying 'This will hurt me more than it hurts you.', was fucking bullshit but those words had been painful to hear.

Logically, he knew that the kid hadn't meant that. He knew that their bond was strong and that his son loved him but those three small words kept repeating themselves in his head, sending him into a spirling jumble of nerves. Looking at the clock on the wall, he knew that Pepper was still in her last meeting of the day so he dialed Happy instead.

"I fucked up.", he clipped into the receiver the moment his friend had said 'Hello'

"What did you do?", Happy returned with a groan because really, it could be anything with Tony. He just hoped that whatever it was this time wasn't detrimental. ...or a security risk. 

"I sent the kid to his room.", Tony returned not realizing that his statement had sounded so utterly mundane that it made him sound like a moron for being as upset as he was. 

"Really?", Happy replied with mirth for several reasons. One because the man had made his claim with such horror that it was hilarious and two, Peter was usually a really, really well-behaved kid. "What did he do?"

Taking a moment to reel himself in, Tony sighed. "He uh, he was just being a little shit and back-talked me so I sent him to his room. Grounded him I guess. He said he hates me.", he half-grumbled. Telling someone else that his son had claimed to hate him was weirdly embarrassing. 

"Oh.", Happy neutrally responded. " Yeah... you never told your dad that you hated them when you were mad?", he questioned because he was pretty sure every kid had done that at some point, himself included. Though admittedly it was strange to picture Peter saying it. The child had invited the one classmate that pestered him on a regular basis to his birthday party because he didn't want to be _mean._

"All the fucking time.", Tony groused return. How could he not? Howard wasn't exactly the definition of 'father of the year'.

"Then you should know that he didn't mean it.", Happy said with conviction.

"I sure as shit meant it.", Tony mumbled back and then rolled his eyes when he heard his friend chuckling over the line.

"Okay, well since I came from a mostly healthy home environment... I'm going to go ahead and tell you that it's normal. He didn't mean it and knowing Peter, he'll be an apologetic mess by dinner.", Happy reassured and in all honesty, Tony knew he was right. He just needed to hear someone else say it and now that he had, he could relax. Then for the next hour, he busied himself with work and making dinner, quietly slipping back into his son's room once it was all on the table.

"Hey, Pete.", he quietly uttered when Peter didn't look towards him upon his entry and was, therefore, unprepared for the kid to dive off of his bed and slam right into his legs.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy. I don't hate you.", the child cried as Tony took a few steps back to steady himself. The boy was small but he could pack a punch when he had some momentum behind him.

"I know, Buddy.", he assured, kneeling down into the carpet so that he could rest his hand on his son's cheek.

"Do you still love me and, and want me?", the child then strutted out making Tony sigh. He'd tried so hard not to give the kid that impression but there were times where it didn't matter what he said or how he said it. Anxiety was a bitch and his kid had a hell of a case of it. All there was to do now was to reassure him, so he pulled him into a tight hug.

"I will _always_ love you. There is not one thing that you could _ever_ do that would make me love you any less and I will _always_ want you. _Always_ and _forever_.", he promised with ease. Loving Peter was probably the easiest thing he'd ever done. He loved Pepper as well but that had taken time, work, and practice... with Peter, it was just... there.

"Okay.", Peter sighed out and Tony felt the child go limp against his body. He allowed the boy to melt into him for as long as he felt like he could get away with without having to reheat their meal and then gave his son another tight squeeze before letting go.

"Come on Buddy, let's go eat.", he murmured and on an impulse, picked the kid up and carried him to the kitchen table. Once Peter was in his seat he started doling out portions of fish, vegetables, and rice. After taking several bites of his own servings, he realized that Peter hadn't touched his plate and set his own fork down. "What's up, Bud?"

"Am I still in trouble?", Peter hesitantly inquired.

Tony nodded his head and wiped his hands on a napkin as he chose his words carefully. "You're still going to be in your room after school tomorrow but I'm not upset anymore.", he finally stated with a soft smile.

"I'm not upset anymore either. I'm just really sorry.", the child replied followed by a long exhale from his nose.

"Me too, Buddy. Let's not make a habit of this, alright? No more arguing, no more back-talk?", Tony gently suggested and smiled when Peter began to feverously nod his head. "Good deal and hey, I love you, okay, Kiddo?"

"Mhmm. I love you too.", Peter returned with a smile and then finally began to eat through his plate, Tony then returning to his. The entire afternoon had been filled with trials but at the moment he could rest easy knowing that he _really_ did have a good kid. Better than he ever was and would no doubt become an even better man.


	7. Stealing Hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, I didn't realize it had been so long since I wrote a chapter for this. I hope it was worth the wait?

When Tony Stark announced that he'd adopted a son the world went wild. All that had been released about Peter was his age and singular picture. One that had been taken by Pepper when they were all at the beach together. Tony was standing waist-deep in the ocean looking at the camera while Peter was on his hip looking towards the water. All that was visible of his face was his profile but you could tell he was smiling widely. All that was really made clear was that the child was small and hand brown curly hair. The details were all hidden in the shadows. That had been strategic. Tony didn't want his son's face all over the place but the news alone was enough to ignite a lot of public conversations.

While _everyone_ gushed about how adorable the newest Stark heir was, there were two distinct sides when it came to whether or not Tony should have been allowed to adopt a child at all. One side of the coin was adamantly saying that having a kid ' _looked good on him_ '. The other, less friendly, side protested that no child should be left alone with Tony Stark. That didn't bother him near as much as accusations of abuse and fucking neglect. Even if it was just bullshit made up by the tabloids. Headlines screaming that Peter was being left alone while ' _his playboy father_ ' went out to party were infuriating.

The public relations team did what they could to keep it all under control and at one point the state came out actually gave testimony that all criteria had been met or exceeded and that Peter was in good hands. He was grateful for that but even after a couple of weeks, the negative press didn't stop. In fact, the only thing that _did stop_ was his ability to take his kid out for ice cream or to the park to ride his damn bike and that too was pissing him the fuck off. 

"I can't keep him locked up, Pepper" Tony growled one afternoon as he slammed a newspaper down onto his desk. Another article had surfaced, this one saying that he was sleeping around while his son was being passed from one babysitter to another. It was accompanied by a fuzzy photograph of him sitting down in a restaurant with a glass of what he knew was ginger-ale in his hands. However, the journalist seemed to be determined that it was something far stronger. No one would believe that he'd been sober for so long. _Not that it was any of their goddamned business._

Pepper sighed and sat down in the chair opposite Tony before glancing over the article herself. "No one is telling you to keep him locked up, you know," she eventually uttered. "You're a free man, you can take him where ever you want to take him," she added with a smile, and when Tony opened his mouth to argue safety measures she rolled her eyes. "You're Iron Man."

Tony stopped short at that comment. It was then that he realized that lack of safety wasn't actually his problem. He knew the kid was safe. He hardly left his side when they were at home, let alone when they were out. The kid was practically his shadow. Rather, it seemed that his unease was coming from the idea of the boy being bombarded by the public or worse, the hoards of paparazzi who were probably dying to take his picture. "I don't want to traumatize him. God, I hated being hounded by the press when I was a kid," he nearly whined. Every one of his accomplishments had been trumpeted from the rooftops from the time he was three. It felt as though his dad was always showing him off by dragging him from one stage to another, treating him like a performing monkey.

Pepper huffed a breath and tried not to roll her eyes. For someone who grew up hating the press, he certainly thrived in it as an adult. She had already tried to convince the man that, as a Stark, Peter was going to have to get used to some amount of media attention but he'd shot that down every time saying, 'When he's older'. She wasn't sure that was the best way to handle it but she also wasn't sure that she had a better idea. Until she did. It was obvious, really. "Look, Tony, you have that Gala benefitting the children's hospitals next week, why don't you take Peter with you. Then people can actually _see you with him_ and see that he's happy healthy and _far_ from neglected," she suggested while Tony looked at her as though she had grown a second head. 

"You want me to put him on parade? I don't think so," he scoffed. There was no way he was going to drag his kid down a red carpet like some sort of accessory.

"No, I want you to show the world that Tony Stark has a heart _and that it belongs to his son_ ," Pepper corrected with a small smile that quickly went back to serious. "Just walk him in, let them take your picture together, and then sneak out the back when you leave," she said as she picked up the paper from the desk and shoved it back into Tony's hands. "The more you hide the more people speculations people are going to make and we both know that none of them will be good. For the love of God, g _ive them something_ so they'll ease up on you guys."

"Would they ease up or would they just be fueled for more harassment. You don't know," Tony countered with a frown. Even if what she said did make sense he didn't like it. The poor kid hadn't sighed up for this kind of lifestyle and he was suddenly feeling really fucking guilty for having dragged him into it. 

"You're right, I don't know for sure but I do know that it would look good for you to bring _your child_ to the gala benefiting _children_ ," Pepper pressed. The entire gala had been Tony's idea. He was the one who wanted to support children's healthcare, particularly when it came to chronic illness and childhood disease, taking Peter would look good. It would solidify his intentions and give the public another glimpse at Peter Parker-Stark. It was win-win.

Sighing deeply Tony leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "I'll think about it," he eventually replied, having already decided that she was probably right. At the same time, he wasn't going to make that kind of decision on his own. He'd let Peter have a say in whether or not he came with him to the event. His son was eight not three. He was old enough to have a fucking opinion.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Tony had just walked into the kitchen when he heard the sound of his son coming through the front door shouting, "Daddy! I'm home!" He smiled as he listened to the small feet hurrying down the hall to the bathroom to wash up while he pulled some fruit-filled Jello out of the refrigerator. Then, he waited until the boy was finished with his snack and daily ramblings, and had started working on his latest Lego creation before proposing the question that had been on his mind for the majority of the day.

"Hey, Pete? Come here, I wanted to ask you something," He said trying to balance the seriousness of the inquiry with the lightness the conversation would require to not upset his son.

"Mhmm," Peter replied without ever looking up from his instructions. "What is it?"

"Can you put down the Lego's for a minute? This is important stuff," Tony sighed out and waited for Peter to look up at him. "You know how I told you that you were going to be staying with Nora next week so that I could go to the big fancy grown-up party?" he queried and again paused for his son to nod his head. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me instead. You could get all dressed up in a fancy suit and tie, and let all the news people take your picture with me."

Peter scrunched up his nose and looked at his dad in confusion. "You siad it was going to be boring and that Nora would be fun," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I did say that, didn't I," Tony defeatedly returned. He'd been trying to prevent a melt-down when he'd said that. Typically if he was needed for an evening Peter stayed with Happy or Ned but neither of them had been an option for that night. However, Nora had and while Peter liked her, she typically watched him during the day and had never put him to bed before. He needed to think fast to get this back on track and seeing as bullshit was his second language he had no problems doing just that. "You know what, though, I think this might be a whole lot _less boring_ if you came with me. You would really be helping me out. _My hero,_ " he tacked onto the end hoping to make his child smile.

"Okay, but do I _have_ to wear a suit?" Peter asked with a look of pure disgust that made Tony chuckle. The kid was flexible about many things. His clothing wasn't one of them. He has a unique style, to say the least. The child would often come out of his room dressed for the day in jeans and a nice button-down shirt only to throw an oversized sweatshirt on top of it on the way out the door. While he knew he could let the boy wear whatever he wanted, he was paying for the goddamned event, after all, he selfishly wanted to see his son dressed to the nines for once. He could still offer him a small say in the matter, though.

"Yep but you can pick the tie," he told his son with a smile. "Anything you want. I bet we could even find you a Star Wars one," he added after some thought, he was pretty sure that was a thing and even if it wasn't, they had a week, he was sure he could find someone to make one. Anything to make the kid more comfortable in a suit. 

"One with little lightsabers on it?" Peter asked with a hopeful look.

Tony nodded his head and gave his son a fond smile. "We can certainly try," he said softly and then stretched out his hands to beckon the boy over to him. 

"Is Pepper going too?" Peter asked next as he climbed up into his dad's lap.

"Absolutely. I bet you can hang out with her some while we're there," Tony returned and then kissed the boy in the side of his head. As much as he'd fought Pepper on the idea of taking his son to any kind of large, televised affair, he was actually getting a little excited about having him there. Talking to his kid, handing him little hors doeuvers to try and even running him back and forth to the bathroom all night would be far more interesting than shaking hands with a bunch of people he didn't even fucking know. Bringing Peter with him would be a nice change of pace. He smiled at the prospect.

~o~o~o~o~o~

When the night of the gala arrived, Tony had Peter stand up on his bed while he knotted the brightly colored Star Wars-themed tie under his collar and tucked it neatly into his vest. "Looking sharp, Buddy," he said, chuckling when the boy dropped down onto his butt and bounced on the mattress. "I like that tie. I wish I had gotten me one to match. Maybe next time, hmm?" he suggested making Peter smile. Not long after that they were both dressed and walking out the door. 

Happy drove them to the large hotel that would be hosting the event. Pepper was already inside greeting doners and taking interviews. Tony was grateful he wasn't expected to do any of that this go-around. Another Perk of brining the kid with him he supposed. Then as Happy announced their arrival he looked back at his son who was staring through the window. "There's a lot of people," he heard the boy whisper and immediately signaled for his friend to take them back around the block because the kid looked nervous.

"There are and they're really eager to see you. We're not going to hang around though. Straight inside," he promised.

"Why do they want to see me? I don't understand," Peter expressed with confusion, and Tony wasn't fucking sure how to answer that. Having been in the spotlight for his entire goddamned life he couldn't imagine what it must feel like, especially as a child, to be thrust into it so suddenly. He wasn't sure how to explain to his son that because _he_ was famous, people felt like they deserved to know every interment detail of his life and that now, by proxy they would want to know about _his_ life as well. It didn't seem fucking fair but it was something they would both have to learn to adjust to. He knew that. He just didn't like it.

It took several seconds of rapid thought for Tony to come up with a reply that was both simple enough to be understood by an eight-year-old yet complex enough to get the underlying message across. "They want to see you because you're mine, Buddy. People are really excited to meet the little boy that I adopted. You're a pretty big deal," he made clear as he reached as far back, as he could, to get his fingers on the boy's knee.

Peter wrinkled his nose and squinted his eyes, finally looking away from the window and back up at his dad. "That's weird," he proclaimed and Tony laughed because they hadn't even touched on exactly how weird it actually was. There were already fan-based websites popping up and thousands of drawings and sketches had shown up across social media for weeks. A lot of people outright claiming how much they loved Peter despite having never actually laid eyes on him. It was more than weird. The public's obsessive adoration could be somewhat scary. He knew that one day when the kid was older, they would have to talk about that. However, at the moment, all they needed to do was to get inside.

"As I said, we'll be quick. Do you want me to carry you or do you want to hold my hand?" Tony asked just as Happy was pulling up to the brightly lit, media and fan lined walk-way.

"I'm big, I don't need to be carried," Peter announced causing Tony to huff a laugh. There was a small part of him that wondered if the child actually understood more about public opinion than he was letting on because the boy wanted to be carried on a regular basis. It didn't make sense that he would suddenly feel like he was too old for that unless he was somewhat cognizant of other people's opinions. He didn't question it, he simply held out his hand for his son to take. 

"Well, let's go," he said with a broad smile, turning towards the shouting crowd. He could feel Peter's grip grow ever tighter as they took the first few steps towards the entrance. It didn't take long after that for the flashing lights to take over and he could feel his son flinching beside him. It was when the mob began shouting Peter's name that Tony took a pause. He still had a hold on his son's small hand but, at that point, the boy's other hand had started clinging relentlessly to his sleeve. 

Glancing downward, he could see that his son was in distress and on the verge of tears. Without even batting an eye, he ignored the large mass of people in favor of kneeling down in front of Peter. "Hey, it's okay, Baby,", he cooed as his son flopped onto his chest to hide his face. They stayed that way for a few very long seconds, Tony soothing his child while Peter continued to try to get as close him as possible. He could hear the kid saying something into his suit jacket but when he couldn't make out the muffled words he made a split-second decision. "I'm going to pick you up, okay?" he said without waiting for a response. If the boy wanted to hide his face for the rest of the procession into the building so be it. The media would just have to deal with another night of not fully seeing his son's face. In fact, that sounded fucking preferable if you asked him.

Despite his rush to get his son through the large double doors, Tony kept his pace casual, trying to stay professional. Knowing that Peter was safely pressed against him, he could smile his practiced smile and waved to the crowd, occasionally blowing a kiss to a, particularly enamored fan. He could feel his son moving around in his arms but noticed that he no longer seemed to be shaking. Taking that as a good sign, he took a few seconds and paused just outside of the hotel to smile once more for the cameras. That's when something unexpected happened.

He felt Peter shift and out of the corner of his eye, he saw him sitting up taller on his hip but when there was an unexpected burst of excitement from the crowd he turned his head fully to find Peter smiling shily towards the cameras. He couldn't help but smile in return. The kid was as brave as hell. That's all there was to it. Then as he began to squeeze him in a little more closely the child brought his fingers to his lips, blew a kiss, and raised his hand in greeting, essentially copying everything that Tony had been doing since they had gotten out of the car. The entire sea of people erupted into cheers at the gesture. 

Those were the photographs that made headlines the next morning. Peter and his bashful smile, Peter blowing a kiss and Peter peeking over his dad's shoulder as they walked inside. If the world thought they loved the kid before, after that, they were completely captivated. _'Peter Parker Stark: Already Stealing Hearts'_ and _'Tony Stark's Son is the Real Charmer in the Family_ ', seemed to be the theme. Though the most surprising picture to take the internet by storm was one of Tony on his knees, kissing Peter's head while pulling him into his chest. It had been aptly captioned, _'Tony Stark Shows his Dad Side'_

Of course, the negative comments never fully dissipated but they became less and less as the years passed by. Mostly because after that night, Tony stopped worrying about the media spotting them. They started going back to the park and visiting the local ice cream shop again, Tony never paying the cameras any attention. He would hug and kiss his boy without any hesitation at all. Eventually, he decided that was really the difference between himself and Howard. Going out with his son wasn't publicity or showing off, it was about spending time with his kid, making sure that he knew he was loved and cared for because that was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come shout at me on Tumblr! [yes-i-am-happyaspie](https://yes-i-am-happyaspie.tumblr.com/)


	8. Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's presence is required on a two-night business trip with Pepper and Peter is anxious and not prepared for his daddy to be gone for so long. Happy steps in as a caregiver until his return.

"But why do you have to go, Daddy? Why can't Pepper go and you stay?" Peter asked after Tony had carefully informed him that he would need to head out of the country for a meeting within the next few days. He'd tried to convince Pepper that she was the CEO and could handle the deal without him but it hadn't been quite that easy. The company they were trying to merge with wanted to hear the promise of cooperation straight from Tony's mouth and a phone call wouldn't have the same effect as taking the time to go speak with them in person. He knew that but it didn't make the trip any less fucking inconvenient. He'd not traveled anywhere without Peter since the whole 'Battle of New York' clusterfuck for a reason. He knew the kid wasn't likely to take the idea of him leaving for any amount of time well. Even with a warning.

"Because it's part of my job, Buddy," he finally sighed out with remorse. "Pepper needs me to go with her so that we can cinch up this merger. I'll be home in three days"

"Why can't you just call them?" Peter asked with eyes full of pleading hope. Tony had to look away a moment before he could respond. Those eyes were going to be his undoing one day. He was sure of it.

"I need to be there, Pete" he finally uttered. There was no getting out of it. Not without putting the breaks on the progress they had made with the other company. If he backed out of the trip now, it wouldn't look good in Stark Industries and Pepper could only do so much damage control. 

"What about me?" Peter asked, suddenly on the verge of tears.

Tony took a deep breath and tried to sound cheery about the arrangement. He wasn't nearly as nervous about the separation as his son was but he had put a lot of thought into the plan. He knew he could have hired Nora or any number of other people to stay with the kid but he'd decided that Happy was really the only person he trusted to handle the level of anxiety his child was likely to display during his absence. Happy had already seen the boy at his worst and would know what to do should Peter start to panic. "You'll be with Happy," he said with a smile. "He'll feed you all the fast food you can eat, give you too much sugar and I'll be home before you know it"

Those words seemed to trigger something in the child as he went from sorrow to anger like a switch. "What if you don't come home!" the boy shouted, fighting back tears as he did so.

"Pete, I promise you, I'll come home" Tony attempted to placate but the assurance was met with more anxiety-fueled fury.

Peter started to kick his feet on the couch and cry into the cushions. "You can't promise that! You can't! You don't know that Daddy!" he nearly screamed. 

"I do know, kid. The plane is safe. I have a good pilot and even if something did happen, I can have an Iron Man suit sent to me in seconds, yeah?" Tony gently reminded. He knew it would never come to it but the armor really was a viable option. A flick of his wrist and he could have a suit on him in time to save himself, Pepper and the pilot with time to spare.

"What if it doesn't come?" Peter asked with hesitation.

Tony smiled and tentatively reached out to place a hand on his son's back, where he was still flopped across the couch. "JARVIS would never let me down, kiddo. If I needed it, it would come," he said with conviction but his son didn't look nearly as assured by those words as he'd hoped he would be.

"What if it's broken and JARVIS can't fix it," Peter asked.

The 'What if' game was probably Tony's least favorite game to play with the kid. Not that it was actually a game. It was the kid's anxiety rearing it's ugly head and filling his son's thoughts with fucked up scenarios. There were times that nothing he could say would ever quell the 'What ifs'. He really hoped that this wasn't one of those times. "You can come with me to the lab before I leave and personally inspect their functionality. How about that?" he suggested hoping that by allowing the boy to see it for himself, he would feel better.

Peter nodded his head and crawled miserably into his daddy's lap. "Can't I just come with you?" he begged, hoping to change the man's mind.

Tony pulled Peter close to his chest and kissed the top of his head, already hating everything about this trip. "Sorry, Bud. Not this time,", he sighed out, already having resigned himself to having a kid in his bed for the next few nights leading up to his departure. 

On Tuesday morning, Tony woke up at the crack of dawn with his son's head laying squarely in the middle of his chest. It took him several minutes to carefully extract himself without waking the child. With any luck, he would be able to get dressed and ready to go without any goddamned drama. That in mind, he ended up using the hall bathroom to shower and dress. He'd just finished shaving and buttoning up the very top button on his dress shirt when he heard a tiny knock on the door. He cracked it open to find his watery eyes son looking up at him. "Hey, Buddy. You have a good sleep?"

Rather than answering his daddy's questions, Peter threw himself into the man's legs and clung so tightly that Tony nearly lost his balance. "Don't go," he whined.

After catching his balance, Tony leaned down to pick his son up and then walked them both out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. "I have to go, Kid but I'll be back in three days. That's two sleeps. Happy will put you to bed tonight and tomorrow night and then I'll be back right before bedtime on Thursday," he explained for what felt like the eight-fucking-hundredth time. He wanted to say he was being patient about it but it was starting to grate on his nerves. If he could fucking stay home, he would. It's not like he wanted to leave and he felt like shit for having to do so. The constant, albeit innocent, guilt-tripping from the kid wasn't helping. "Let's eat some breakfast before I have to go."

"Can I have frozen waffles?" Peter asked as he lay his head down onto his folded arms.

In an effort to clear the tension from the room, Tony smiled and opened the freezer door. "Sure," he agreed and then took two waffles out and dropped them down onto a blue plastic plate. "Frozen waffles coming right up," he playfully announced and then dropped the plate in front of his son. 

Peter looked down at the frost-covered waffles, wrinkled his nose. "That's not what I meant, Daddy! You have to cook them first!" Peter squawked, unable to stop himself from smiling. 

Nodding his head, Tony crossed the room and picked the plate back up. "Oh! So you don't want frozen waffles? Okay, I'll put them back," he continued to tease, knowing that it would make his son laugh. He was instantly rewarded with a fit of small giggles.

"No! You have to put them in the toaster!" Peter laughed as he slid off the stool and jumped up and down in an attempt to take the plate from his daddy's hand. "Give them to me, I can do it myself!"

Relenting, Tony smiled and handed the waffles to his son, who instantly hopped up onto his stool and dropped the pair of waffles into the toaster. "Okay, smart guy, you do it. I'm going to make some eggs," he said mostly to himself. Peter was already concentrating on adjusting the dial on the side of the toaster to the desired setting. He was just happy the kid was busy and smiling. He hoped that the good mood would last but he didn't actually think it fucking would. Happy would be there soon and he was sure that all hell would break loose at that point. 

The two of them ate their breakfast in relative peace. Peter rambled on and on about dinosaurs, his newest obsession, while Tony dreaded the moment he had to walk out the damn door. He was just about to offer the kid a bite of his eggs when JARVIS let him know that Happy had arrived. "Come on in, Hap!" he called out while holding his fork towards his son's mouth but Peter turned his head away and frowned.

"Don't go. Please don't go. Just stay here," Peter frantically pleaded. He'd really hoped that his daddy would change his mind about leaving but now that Happy was there, he knew there was no chance of that.

Tony looked at Happy apologetically before turning back towards his child. "Pete, I'm not leaving for twenty more minutes. Let's finish eating and then I'll read you two stories from your big book of dinosaurs before I have to go," he calmly promised but the boy wasn't having any of it. 

"No! I don't want you to read my book now! I want you to read it at bedtime like you're supposed to!" Peter shouted as he shoved his plate away from himself. 

Wanting to be of help, Happy approached them and placed a hand gently on the kid's shoulder. "Peter, I'll read you some extra stories tonight. Let your-" he said with the intention of requesting the child listen to his father but the boy was already past reasoning. 

"-No!" Peter cried out in interruption, shrugging the man's hand off of him. "You can't read my books! Only Daddy can!" he argued and under any other circumstanced Tony would have sent the kid to his room for mouthing off as he had. However, he knew that was the separation anxiety speaking so for the time being, he let it slide. 

"Come, here, Pete," he whispered, scooting his chair back to accommodate the child who was clamoring to get into his lap. "Calm down, Baby. It's going to be okay," he tried to soothe while his son cried into his shirt. He allowed the boy to stay that way all the way up until the very moment he was meant to be walking out the door. Then with a deep sigh, he squeezed his son tightly. "I need to go, Baby," he sadly stated because, fuck, he didn't want to leave the kid while he was so distraught

Peter snaked his arms around his father's middle and held on that much more tightly as the man attempted to move him. He'd expected the child to have some sort of a melt-down as he prepared to leave but he'd not expected it to be quite so heart-breaking. He probably should have. He knew the kid was still heavily dependent on his presence and three days probably sounded like a fucking eternity to him. "You've got to let go, Pete," he repeated, his voice cracking on the last syllable. When Peter held fast, he looked towards his friend for assistance. "Happy?"

Happy took that as his cue and stepped forward to help untwine the child's arms and legs from Tony's torso. As he did, so, Peter began to kick and scream. He had to hold the boy's flailing body close to his own to prevent himself from being hit, kicked... or bitten.

"No! No! Let go of me! Stop it! Let go!" Peter screamed and cried as he struggled to get loose from Happy's grip. "I only want my Daddy!"

Feeling utterly helpless and like absolute shit, Tony tried to pacify his struggling child. "-I love you so much, Baby, and I'll see you in three days," he swore but it seemed that his son was beyond the ability to register what was being said to him at the moment. He looked to his friend instead. "Happy, I'm so sor-"

"-It's fine," Happy interjected, fully aware of the time constraints. "I've got him. You need to get going."

Tony nodded his head and looked once more towards Peter. "I call you later, Buddy. I promise" he said before hurriedly slipping out the door

Even after Tony had walked out, Happy held onto Peter while he thrashed in his arms. The last thing he wanted was for the boy to get free and take off through the front door. Though, once the kid had gone relatively limp and the sobbing relented into hitched breaths he lay the boy down on the couch. "I know you're worried, Kid but I promise to take good care of you until your daddy gets home", he said, already feeling exhausted. Though from the looks of it, the kid was feeling the same. "Cartoons?" he asked, smiling when the boy nodded his head.

The remainder of the day went fairly well. Peter didn't say much. He mostly remained curled up on the couch watching his favorite shows until Happy made him get dressed so that they could go out for lunch. He played on the playground at the McDonald's for a little while and with some prompting, he ate some of his meal. When they got home he went right back to the couch and that's where he stayed until dinner time.

"Dinner's ready. I made you some macaroni and cheese with dinosaur-shaped pasta," Happy called out and Peter made his way to the table where he spent more time pushing the cheese-covered dinosaurs around than he did eating them.

"I want my daddy," Peter said with tears in his eyes.

Happy sighed and set down his own fork. It was going to be a long-ass few days. "I know, you do, Peter and he's going to call you before bed. Why don't you take a few more bites and then go take your bath, hmm? That's what you do after dinner, right?" he suggested, trying to keep the kid on routine as had been suggested.

"Yeah. Then Daddy reads me a story in my bed," Peter said before picking up a singular piece of pasta with his fork. "Can I sleep in Daddy's bed tonight?"

Smilingly fondly, Happy sighed. "Sure, kid." 

Later that evening, after tucking Peter into Tony's bed, Happy lay down across the couch and turned on a movie. He'd half expected the kid to get up nine times before falling asleep but he hadn't heard one peep out of the child since he'd pulled the door to. Taking that as a good sign, he finished his movie, turned off the television, and pulled an afghan around his shoulders. There was no telling what morning would bring him but he assumed he would need to be well-rested.

Not ten minutes later he heard little feet pattering down the hallway. He sighed deeply, assuming that he was about to have to clean up a bed full of pee but quickly realized that the child wasn't sniffling. In the amount of time, it took him to wrack his brain for any other reason for the boy to be awake at such an hour he felt the cushions jostling and a small weight settling at the opposite end of the wide couch. "Come here, Buddy," he whispered, reaching down to grab Peter by the shoulder and tug him up to where he was laying in front of him. Once he had the kid there, he pulled him close and wrapped the blanket around the both of them. "Go to sleep. It's late."

Nothing was said about impromptu sleepover the following morning. Peter woke up first, kicked the blanket off, and skittered off towards the bathroom. While he was out of the room, Happy stretched himself out and busied himself by pulling out a box of cereal and the kid's morning asthma medication. From there, the day went by quickly. They ate a picnic lunch at the park, went to the movies, and filled up on popcorn and candy, and followed that up with a late dinner at a local cafe. They returned home just in time for Peter to take a quick bath, though not quite quick enough because he was still in rising his hair when Tony called.

"Hey, Hap. How's my kid doing?" Tony asked the second the lines connected.

Happy smiled and nodded his head, despite the fact that no one could see him doing so. "Pretty good, actually," he replied with ease, "He had a hard time last night and actually ended up sleeping with me on the couch but today's been really good." He went on to explain what all they had done until Peter came bouncing into the room, his mop of wet curls bouncing on his forehead.

"Daddy!" Peter cried out happily, once he'd been handed the phone. Though there were no pleasantries to follow as he got straight to the point. "You're coming home tomorrow, right? Two sleeps. You siad two and tonight is the second one," he asked so quickly that his words were running together. 

"Yes, Pete. I'll be home tomorrow after dinner," Tony assured and was unsurprised when that answer was greeted with a whine.

"Why not in the morning?" Peter asked, right on the verge of annoyance.

There was nothing Tony would have loved more than to be able to be there in the morning but he still had a meeting to attend and it wasn't exactly a short flight. Any other time he would have stayed one more night to allow himself to get some rest before boarding an international flight but that luxury wasn't worth his son's mental health. He would get home as soon as he could get home. "I can't make the plane fly faster, Buddy," settled on as a reply.

"But I'm ready for you to come home," Peter returned with an obvious crack to his voice.

"I'm ready to be home, Pete. I miss you," Tony softly returned. He could hear his son's breath starting to quicken and knew he was moments from bursting into tears. 

"I miss you too. ... and I love you and I want you to come home," Peter miserably stated, tears already rolling down his cheeks.

Not knowing what he could say to better the situation, Tony chose to simply acknowledge the boy's feeling and hope for the best. "I know, kiddo. I love you too. Now, go get some sleep, alright."

After the call ended, the good day they had been having plummetted. The first night had been hard but the second was turning out to be far worse. Peter had begun to cry the second the phone call ended and was inconsolable for a while after that. It was well after ten when he'd finally cried himself out and was starting to fall asleep where he lay curled up in Happy's lap. "You ready to get some sleep?" Happy asked, hoping he wasn't about to send the kid into another found of sobbing hysterics at the suggestion.

"I don't want to-", Peter began, choking on his own words halfway through his thought, "- go to bed by, by myself."

Watching Peter dissolve into tears had been hard to watch. "You want to sleep on the couch with me again?" Happy asked, wanting to help stave off some of the child's loneliness and fear. When Peter nodded his head, he smiled and pointed down the hallway. "Alright. Why don't you go to the bathroom and I'll go grab you a pillow."

"I want Daddy's pillow," Peter specified as he slid off the couch. 

"Daddy's pillow. Got it," Happy chuckled as he began to set up the couch to accommodate two.

The next day, there was absolutely nothing that could keep Peter occupied as he jittered with the anticipation of his Daddy's arrival. He'd asked seven times before lunch alone what time, _exactly,_ he could expect the man to walk in the door. Though the closer they got to that time the more nervous the boy became. "Are you sure, he's coming?" he asked over and over again. 

Each time Happy tried to reassure him but he understood the concern. The poor kid didn't exactly have a great track record with his parents coming home from trips. "He's coming, Peter. Look, I got a text earlier saying that he was getting on the plane," he gently replied, handing over his phone so that the anxious child could read the message for himself. 

It took Peter all of three seconds to notice that the time stamp was several hours old. "That was a long time ago. What about now? Where is he now?" he asked, visions of crashing plans and giant aliens ships and wormholes dancing in his head. 

"JARVIS? Do you have any sort of tracker on that plane?" Happy asked in resignation. He should have realized that the kid was too smart for that to have worked. Of course, he would look at the time.

"I do, sir," the AI soothingly spoke up. "The airplane is en route and currently located at 8.7832 degrees South and 124.5085 degrees West."

"...and where exactly is that?" Happy asked, not having the time or the capacity to decode longitude and latitude at the moment. Not when his young charge was bordering on a panic attack.

"Over the Pacific ocean, Sir," JARVIS kindly explained. "Mr. Stark is on course to arrive him by eight-thirty as scheduled."

Happy sighed, smiling slightly when he saw some of the tension leave Peter's shoulders. He knew that all of the stress the boy was feeling was, by no means, alleviated but he no longer looked like he was about to cry. "There. You, see? He's on his way," he said softly as he beckoned for the boy to join him on the couch.

Peter acquiesced and moved to sit directly beside Happy while taking a deep breath. "I'm scared," he admitted.

Knowing that no words could quell that fear, Happy picked up the remote and handed it to the child beside him. "Let's watch a movie, hmm?" he suggested, hoping to, if nothing else, kill some time. "You want some pizza?" he asked after some time had passed and a reasonable dinner hour had arrived.

Peter nodded his head but didn't eat any of it. He accepted the plate and held it in his lap until the pipping hot slice was completely cold. "You're not going to eat that?", Happy asked with concern. The kid had eaten very little since Tony had left and even less leading up to his imminent return. "You know your daddy would want you to eat, right?"

"I'm not hungry," Peter explained with a nervous shake to his voice. "My tummy hurts."

Stomach aches had been a common occurrence after the child's aunt and uncle had died. At first it had been from grief alone but later, the symptom had attributed to the child's growing anxiety. Learning to handle that level of nerves was something the counselor was still working with him on. "You're okay, Peter. Deep breaths," Happy whispered while rubbing circles on the boy's back. 

Eventually, he coaxed the boy into eating a few bites before sending him off to get ready for bed. Peter fought the bath tooth and nail because he didn't want to be in the tub if his daddy got home early. Happy didn't even attempt to press. He was exhausted and there was no real value in forcing the boy into the water. 

The little boy had just snuggled down onto the couch with Jojo in his hands when the front door opened. "Peter?" Tony called out the second he was standing inside the penthouse. 

"Daddy?" Peter questioned. Then he sat up, peeked over the top of the couch and shouted, "Daddy!", bursting into happy tears as he ran across the room, full speed.

Tony caught his son in his arms and immediately lifted him up so that the boy could bury his face in his neck. "Hey, you're okay, Baby," he soothed. "I'm home. Safe and sound." Then he looked to Happy and towards the box of pizza still sitting on the counter. "Did you ever get him to eat anything?" he asked, still rocking Peter side to side.

"Not much," Happy returned, already walking around and collecting the things that had yet to make their way back into his overnight bag. He'd not brought much, he lived just a few floors down but it had definitely been easier not having to go back and forth. Especially since Peter had been feeling excessively clingy in the evenings.

Tony nodded his head. He'd expected that much. "Thanks for watching him, Hap. I own you one," he said with a weary smile, then turned his attention back to his son. "I'm going to grab something to eat, you want to come with me to the kitchen?" he asked, not expecting anything but an agreeance. He wasn't convinced the boy was going to let him out of his sight for days to come. 

Once in the kitchen, he set his son down and threw a couple of sliced onto a plate, microwave them just long enough to remove the chill. When it was ready, he sat down, with Peter on his knee, and ate most of it, convincing his son to take a bite here and there until it was gone. Afterward, he placed the plate into the dishwasher and then looked at the boy's drooping eyelids. "You look tired," he said. 

Peter agreed and nestled further into Tony's chest. "I'm pretty tired too," Tony admitted as he leaned into his kiss his son's head. "Did you not take a bath?" he asked when he realized that the boy's head didn't smell like fresh shampoo. Peter shook his head in the negative and Tony hummed in response. "It's fine, we can skip it tonight."

"Can I sleep with you?" Peter asked as if either of them would have it any other way.

"Absolutely," Tony said with enthusiasm. "I haven't had any Petey cuddles in days. I'm having withdrawals."

Peter scrunched up his face in thought before asking, "What are withdrawals?"

'Well, shit', Tony thought to himself as he wrestled for a definition that wouldn't end up being too much information for an eight-year-old. "It's when you're used to having something all the time and you feel really, really bad when you don't have it anymore."

"Like when they stopped making the churro ice cream at Marco's and we didn't want to eat any ice cream at all for a while?" Peter innocently equated.

"Something like that," Tony replied before moving the fucking subject along. Come on, it's bedtime. Go brush your teeth again." 

Peter hurried off to do what he was asked while Tony went and got himself ready for bed. He'd not slept while he was away. He never fucking did but it had been made worse knowing that his son was at home without him. As such, he ended up hugging the kid around his middle the second he crawled into the bed with him. 

"Daddy, you're squeezing me," Peter half-heartedly complained. 

"Sorry, kiddo," Tony chuckled, letting go so that Peter could lay his head on his chest right beside the glow that was penetrating through his tank top.

"I like you're light," the child quietly mused, as he gently tapped the arc reactor. It was then that it occurred to Tony that other than Pepper, Peter was the only person he allowed to touch the vulnerable, yet powerful device nestled in his chest. 

"I bet we could make a night light that looks just like it" Tony replied, wondering if such a thing would be comforting in his absence or should he ever decide to have the surgery required to allow him to live without the arc reactor. That was something he'd been contemplating for a while. Not giving up Iron Man, just giving up the implanted power source. The suits could operate with their own version of the device and he would be healthier for it. Bullshit willing, healthy enough to see his son into adulthood. He smiled at the notion. "I love you, Pete."

"I love you too, Daddy," Peter mumbled already half asleep against him.

Tony sighed and ran his fingers through his son's hair. He could think more about the future later. For the moment, he just wanted to stay right there in the present. It was good to be home. 


	9. Happy to be Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy takes Peter out to his very first baseball game for some bonding.

"Hey, kid. You ready to go?" Happy asked with enthusiasm as he entered the Stark's penthouse. He'd been given a couple of tickets to an afternoon Mets game and had decided to use the opportunity to hang out with his favorite little buddy. With Tony's approval, of course.

"I'm ready!" Peter announced, running towards the door with Tony following closely behind him.

"Hey, Slow down there, sports fan," Tony chuckled, catching his son by the back of his shirt before he could dart past Happy and out the door. "I still need to put some sunscreen on you," he said as he tried to rub the greasy lotion across his son's fidgeting body. "This would go a lot faster if you would be still," he mildly chastised. He knew the kid was worked out about the afternoon out. He couldn't blame him. He'd not had a whole lot of time to take his son anywhere other than school in the recent weeks. Stark Industries was knee-deep in negotiations with a large tech company across seas and he'd been being dragged from one meeting to another, at nearly all hours.

The second Tony had let go of him, Peter was back to jumping up and down in front of Happy who had stepped inside to wait. "Guess what, Happy!" the boy practically squealed. "I've never been to a baseball game before but Ned said that there are hotdogs and a big screen that plays funny videos sometimes."

"Most People got to watch the game, not the screen, kiddo," Tony said with a grin as he placed the boy's inhaler into his friend's hand. "I don't think he'll need it but I'd feel better knowing it was with him," he explained despite the fact that Happy hadn't even questioned it. He knew his friend was already well aware of Peter's asthma. He'd been nothing but supportive since the diagnosis.

Happy slipped the item into his pocket with an understanding nod of his head and then looking down at the child who was still vying for his undivided attention. "Alright, kid. Let's get going before you spontaneously combust," he teased, taking the boy by the hand and smiling over his shoulder at Tony who was still watching them from the door. They both knew that there had been a time when Peter would scream and cry anytime he was asked to go anywhere without his dad, even if it was only for a short time. It felt good to have the boy willingly and happily tugging at his hand. 

"See you this evening, Petey! Be good for Happy!" Tony called down the hall feeling just as relieved that Peter was now willing to go more places without him. He knew that the his son was still hesitant to be away from him for too long. Even sleepovers with Ned were still extremely rare events. He was glad the kid felt comfortable enough to spend an entire afternoon with Happy. It really was a pretty big deal.

__________

Because it was an afternoon game, the outside of the stadium had been filled with child-friendly activities. There were dozens of games that came with little prizes and bounce houses with seemingly endless lines. Happy had already resigned himself to having to stand around in the heat so that Peter could participate but the kid never said a word about it. "Don't you want to play the games?" he asked in confusion.

"Do they cost money?" Peter asked and it was all Happy could do to not laugh. The kid was a billionaire by proxy and he was concerned about how much a few shitty little games would cost. 

"Probably," Happy laughed, "-but I want you to have a good time. If you want to play the games, then let's go play the games. My treat," he said and when Peter shyly nodded his head, he gave the child's hand a squeeze and led him towards one of the shorter lines. 

With blatant permission having been granted, Peter ended up dragging Happy all over the large courtyard, where he played nearly every single on of the games and collected a number of small trinkets in his pockets. His favorite being a tiny plastic baseball helmet that just fit on the tip of his pointer finger. "Thank you, Happy," he chirped as they filed through the turnstiles and into the crowded stadium. 

"Don't thank me yet, kid. We're just getting started," Happy said with amusement, pulling the boy in a little more closely as he did so. The corridors were bustling with people and that he didn't want the small boy to get lost in the crowds. He'd half expected the kid to be worried or nervous about the number of people surrounding them but when he looked down, he could see his young friend grinning ear to ear. "I'm glad you're having fun, though." 

With his eyes darting around in an attempt to take everything in at once, Peter nodded his head and the second he laid eyes on one of the large concessions stands he stopped in his tracks giggled wildly. "Can we get a hotdog? _Please_ , Happy? I love hotdogs!" he pleaded while practically dancing in place. In all of his excitement, he'd not eaten much of his lunch and he'd been thoroughly looking forward to the prospect of eating a hotdog at the game.

"Of course we can get a hotdog!" Happy replied with a scoff. He'd been planning on getting something for them to snack on anyway. "You want a soda and some chips too?"

"Yes, Please!" Peter shouted and giddily followed Happy over towards the line.

With his hands full of drinks and boxes of food Happy had to let go of Peter's hand while they walked to their seats. There was a small part of him that was worried the kid would see something shiny and take off before he could catch him but that didn't happen. The little boy stayed close by his side, rambling about anything and everything as they went. It was hard to believe that he was the same kid that refused to say a singular word to him when they'd first met. He shook his head at the memory and checked his ticket one more time to make sure they were going in the right direction.

As they reached their seats, Happy realized that he'd not really known how good the seats that had been gifted to his actually were. When he'd had trouble finding the correct row, the usher had pointed them towards the section just to the right of home plate. You could practically see the stitches on the catcher mitt if you stood up and looked hard enough. Though the kid didn't seem to know the difference as he settled into the padded folding chair and grabbed his drink out of the cupholder that it had just been placed in. 

"When do they put the funny stuff on the big screen?" Peter asked once he'd set his cup back down and had started to unwrap his hotdog. 

"I don't know. I haven't been to a baseball game in a long time," Happy honestly replied. Baseball wasn't his favorite but he never gave up an opportunity to go to a game. There was just something exciting about being surrounded by a large group of people who all shared the same interest Later finding out that he would be taking the kid to his first ball game had made it even better. 

"When will it start?" Peter asked next but before Happy could answer the announcer started to speak and several people started to gather at home plate. The national anthem was sung, the obligatory 'first pitch' was tossed out by some local celebrity and then the game started in earnest. Though the series of events must not have been as climactic as the kid had expected because as the first batter struck out he looked at Happy and asked, "Is this it? Are they playing now?"

Happy huffed a laugh and looked at the way the small boy's legs were dangling off the seat and swinging back and forth. "Yeah, kid. They're playing now. Do you know how to play baseball?" he asked with a smile. He knew the boy went to a nerd school but he was having a hard time believing that they never played any kind of sports there. At least in gym class. He was a little surprised when Peter shook his head in the negative. 

"All I know is that they hit the ball with a bat and run the bases. I've never played it before though," Peter explained as he watched the pitcher with interest and that led Happy into an animated explanation of what each of the players was doing and how the game was played. 

Peter nodded along as Happy spoke and picked at his chips the whole time, occasionally asking questions when things didn't quite make sense to him. Then, just as he went to finish his hotdog, the crowd erupted into cheers causing him to startle and drop the last bite, leaving a trail of mustard down his shirt. At this point, he was completely ignoring everything else that was going on as he tried to furiously wipe away the yellow stain, though all that did was cause it to spread. "Happy?" he questioned in mild distress. "Happy, I need help."

Having been caught up in the moment, Happy didn't hear Peter calling him but he did notice when a small hand started rapidly patting his side. He gave one last enthusiastic whoop and then looked down to find the kid looking at him with tears in his eyes. "What happened?" he asked in surprise. He'd allowed his attention to shift towards the game for two minutes. He couldn't fathom how the boy could have hurt himself in that short of an amount of time.

Rather than answer, Peter looked down at his shirt and crumpled the hem up in his fist. Suddenly realizing the problem, Happy smiled softly. "It's just a little bit of mustard, Peter. It's fine," he said, hoping that would be enough for the kid to settle back down but it wasn't and if he was being honest, he wasn't surprised. He'd never met a child so insistent about being clean in his entire life. "Alright, how about a new shirt then," he suggested. He'd planned on spoiling the kid anyway. 

The wide corridors were nearly empty. The game was still in play and most of the spectators were in their seats. Happy didn't complain. It made getting in and out of the souvenir store that much quicker. "You look good, kid," Happy said once Peter was changed into a new shirt and had an oversized baseball cap resting atop his head. "Like a proper baseball fan."

Once they were back in their seats, Peter pulled all of the small toys he still had stored in his pockets out and started playing with them in his lap, look up occasionally whenever the crowd would shout. Between innings, he happily watched the silly videos that played and thoroughly enjoyed participating in the numerous chants and cheers. Though after some time, the playthings, songs, and the baseball cards that Happy had bought him, were no longer enough to hold his attention. "Is it almost over?" he asked as he watched the mascot dancing nearby.

"Almost," Happy replied. They were well into the eighth innings and the visiting team would need some sort of a miracle to catch up in points. There would be no extra innings, that was certain. Then he looked over at the frowning boy and sighed. "Why? Do you need to use the bathroom again?" he asked even though he'd taken the kid twice already.

"No. I'm just tired. It's hot," Peter whined while dramatically peeling his sweaty shirt away from his body.

Happy hummed in acknowledgment. It was hot. There was no real shade where they were seated and the sun had been beating down on them for a while. Not wanting to get out of his seat again, he glanced around to find a vendor walking around with a cooler filled with a variety of frozen confections. "How a frozen lemonade to cool you off, then," he suggested eliciting a smile from the pink-cheeked child beside him.

"Thank you, Happy!" Peter said, for what Happy was sure was the hundredth time that day as he dug into the prepackaged cup. 

"You're welcome, Buddy. Thank you for coming and hanging out with me," he replied with a soft smile. The kid had grown on him over the last few months. He'd liked him before Tony had taken over his care but now he felt like family. It was crazy how quickly that had happened. 

"Do you want some?" Peter asked as he thrust the spoon towards the man's face. 

Happy smiled and opened his mouth so that the kid could forcefully shove the spoon into his mouth. He had to admit it was refreshing and when he asked for another bite and the boy giggled. They repeated the process several times until the frozen snack was gone and at that point, the game was nearly over. "It's almost time to go. As soon as they strike out the game will be over," he said.

Peter stood up so that he could take a better look and watched the players on the field. When the last player finally struck out, the crowd went wild. "Is it over? Did we win?" Peter asked as he tried to read the scoreboard but with everyone standing up and celebrating he couldn't see over them. "I can't see anything!" he shouted over the noise.

Already standing up himself, Happy leaned down and scooped Peter up in his arms. "Yeah, Buddy. We won," he said as he pulled the boy in more tightly. 

They sat in their seats during the majority of the mass exodus. The parking lot was going to be a bitch to get out of and, Happy wasn't sure he wanted to be stuck in that amount of traffic with Peter in the backseat. At least if they waited inside for it to due down there were water fountains and bathrooms available. It also meant that he had time to look at the baseball cards the kid had picked out in the shop. Peter asked him about the stats on the back and he explained them, laughing when the kid found the math involved more interesting than the information it was representing. "You like math, huh, kid?"

"Yep! -and I'm good at it!" Peter said as he continued to study the numbers on the back of the cards. "Daddy says that math and science are my specialties and that when I grow up I'm going to be smarter than him."

"Is that so?", Happy chuckled as he wrapped an arm around the little boy's shoulders. "Well, smartypants, are you ready to go home? It looks the place had just about cleared out."

Peter nodded his head, shoved the cards into his pockets with the toys, and took hold of Happy's hand so that they could walk back to the car. The parking lot was still slightly congested but the air conditioning was well worth the short delay and soon they were on the road. 

__________

"Hey! There's my favorite kid!" Tony greeted when Peter walked through the door with Happy behind him. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes!" Peter replied with glee before he began to babble about the entire day start to finish in great detail. 

Tony nodded along, laughing at the enthusiasm and throwing his friend a few amused glances as the boy spoke. It sounded like, outside of the need for a clean shirt, the outing had been a success. "Did you tell Happy 'thank you'?" he asked when the child eventually quieted down.

"Only about twenty times," Happy said before Peter had a chance to answer. He was pretty sure that the kid didn't need reminders to be polite. The boy had better manners than most adults he knew. It was as though they had been ingrained in the child at birth but he was glad to see his friend was continuing to encourage it. "He's a good really good kid."

"He really is," Tony mused as he watched his son sitting on the floor, lining up the toys he'd collected across the ottoman. Then the smell of the chicken and potatoes he had in the oven wafted through the air, reminding him of the hour. "Hey, Pete? Why don't you come over here and tell your _Uncle Happy_ good-bye so that we can eat some dinner," he said, sending his friend a taunting grin. 

Happy rolled his eyes and held out his arms to catch the kid who was unsurprisingly barreling towards to give him a hug. "I'll see you later, Kid. Thanks for being my buddy today," he said as he patted the boy's back. 

Without any hesitation, Peter looked up at Happy with a wide smile and said "I like being your buddy, Uncle Happy!"

Tony laughed with glee from across the room because he'd not expected his son to actually call Happ _y 'Uncle Happy._ ' He'd been trying to give his friend a hard time but he supposed it made sense. Since coming to live with him, Happy had been a huge part of Peter's life. He was part of their family and he figured the kid was probably glad to have been given permission to give that relationship a title. -and from the looks of it, Happy was just as elated. Then with a good-natured shake of his head, he smiled fondly at the unexpected scene before him and huffed a laugh. Apparently his friend had just become his brother and frankly? He could think of far worse ways for his constant teasing to backfire. 


	10. Guppies and Minnows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter takes to swimming lessons like a fish to water. However, things get a little more difficult when he'd expected to jump from the diving board that's nearly as tall as he is. Taking the leap seems scary but at the same time he really wants to be able to move up to the next swimming level...

If there was one thing Tony had learned about Peter since taking over his care, it was that the kid _loved_ the water. He loved fearlessly jumping into the pool from the side just to see how big of a splash he could make, he loved floating on and then tackling the giant inflatable shark he'd picked out at the store and in the evenings when he was worn out, he loved to just sit on the steps and play with his action figures. Taking the boy into the ocean for the first time had been an adventure that only seemed to fuel the kid's appreciation for everything water. He'd spent _hours_ dragging himself and Pepper through the waves, squealing and giddily dancing around the whole time. 

It had been Tony's intention to sign the kid up for some swimming lessons the moment they arrived home but between the adoption, the subsequent press conference, work, and just fucking life in general, he'd forgotten about it. There just seemed to be so much going on all the goddamned time. Then whole asthma diagnosis had come along and that's when it finally crossed his mind again. The specialist had recommended regular exercise and he'd thought to himself that swimming definitely fit the bill. 

After that, he'd enrolled kid in some lessons and that's how they ended up spending every single Saturday morning at a top tier indoor/outdoor pool facility right in the heart of Manhattan. Though for the first couple of weeks, Peter's nervousness around strangers seemed to outweigh his love for the pool. He would sit out while his classmates splashed around and played games. It wasn't until Tony had offered to get sit right at the edge beside him that the child had decided to join in and then there was no stopping him.

It became very clear, very quickly that Peter was going to be at the top of his class. He was nearly always the first to master's new skills and had easily passed the test to graduate from being a 'Tadpole' to being a 'Guppy.' From there, the lessons became a bit more difficult. The expectations had moved from blowing bubbles, floating, and treading water to actual swimming. Of course, Peter had kept up, no problem. The coach had told him that his kid was a natural. Tony had told her that his kid was part fish. Peter had argued that _no one could be part fish_ and then rejoined his friends in the shallow end of the pool.

As time went on, Tony started paying less and less attention to the actual classes. He would always look up when his son called him to _'Watch this, Daddy!_ ' but for the most part, he would pull out his tablet or a book that Pepper had insisted he would enjoy. She was usually right and the hour spent laying in the shade under an umbrella was a good time to read. That's probably why it came as such a surprise when Peter approached him, before class was even over, with tears in his eyes and a coach following closely behind him. "Hey, Buddy? Are you okay?" he asked, abandoning his book and reaching over to wrap his boy up in a towel.

"I don't like swimming anymore, Daddy," Peter stated with a quivering lip.

Without further questions, Tony looked towards the young woman who had escorted his son over to him. Then a prickle of anxiety ran up the back of his neck as Peter buried himself further into his side and shivered. He couldn't fathom what the fuck could have possibly happened to make his kid not want to swim anymore. He loved swimming and looked forward to his weekly lessons. 

"We introduced the diving board today," the coach said once she had sat down on the chair opposite the pair.

"Okay..." Tony replied with obvious confusion. "So what happened?"

The woman smiled softly and reached over to pat Peter's towel-covered knee. "Everyone was taking turns jumping in and swimming to the ladder. Peter made it to the end of the board and decided that he wasn't ready to jump," she unsatisfactorily explained. Tony had seen his kid leap from the side of the pool into the water a million and one times. He loved it. He would have assumed that he would love jumping from the board just as much, _if not more_. Something else had to have happened.

"Why didn't you want to take your turn, Pete?" he asked, not liking at all the way the kid's eyes watered all over again at the question. 

"I just don't like it" Peter hesitantly spoke, "It's really high."

Tony looked towards the deep end of the pool where the diving board was and sighed. He eyeballed the board to be about three feet above the water. It didn't look all that high to him but he supposed that for his, not quite four-foot-tall, son it was a significant drop. "-and you got a little bit scared, huh, Buddy?" he proposed and when Peter nodded miserably into his chest he gave him a tight squeeze. "That's alright. You don't have to do it today."

"Yes, I do, Daddy!" Peter returned with a frown. "I can't graduate to 'Minnow' if I don't jump off and swim to the side."

"You're not taking any test today, Kiddo," Tony chuckled despite the stress that was still coating his son's features. He was sure that not only were there still a few weeks until the next class evaluation but that there as no rush to move from one level to the next. They did a group assessment at the end of every six weeks and you could schedule a private one whenever you wanted. There were no rules about that sort of thing. "You've got nothing but time."

"We'll keep giving it a try in class," the woman assured before bringing her attention back to Tony. "-and if you want to come in a little early next weekend, I can give him some one-on-one time," she added and then walked back over to join the other coach who as wrapping the class up for the day. 

Tony nodded and followed Peter into the locker room where he waited for his kid to quietly rinse off and change into his dry clothes. The boy didn't say much in the car either. The perpetual silence was unusual but he didn't say anything about until they were most of the way home. "You know it's not a big deal if you don't graduate to 'Minnow' just yet, right, Buddy? It's okay if you're not ready to make that jump."

"It's not okay" Peter grumbled from the back of the car, "Everyone else can do it. If I don't do it then I won't get to go to the next class with my friends."

"You'll make new friends," Tony returned without missing a beat. While his son was often uneasy around unfamiliar adults, he a really friendly boy and tended to get along with most kids his age. Besides, it wasn't like they would never run into any of those particular children again. The facility offered numerous opportunities for members to get together "-and you'll still see your other friends sometimes during open swim and family nights," he offered with a wave of his hand but all Peter did was scowl and cross his arms over his chest as he firmly declared that _'he wanted to be a 'Minnow.''_

During the time leading up to assessment day, Peter made a few more attempts to jump from the diving board however, the endeavors always ended in tears. Tony was never sure if they were tears of frustration, embarrassment, or fear but he held him close, all the same, whispering reassurances in his ear the whole time. Though it wasn't until bedtime the night before the big day that the real reason for the hesitation arose.

"What if I can't do it?" Peter asked as Tony attempted to turn out the lamp for the night.

"Then we'll schedule a retake when you're ready," Tony replied as he leaned down and kissed his son's forehead one more time. "One of these days you're going take a big breath, jump in and come up out of the water cheering," he said with a smile that wasn't reciprocated.

"What if I can't," Peter asked as he pulled his stuffed rabbit up under his chin.

Tony smiled and nodded his head in understanding. "You'll get it, eventually. Just like you learned to ride your bike, you'll learn to jump from the diving board," he promised without a single doubt in his mind. Though it didn't look like his son was going to agree with him. If anything the boy looked even more upset.

"No, Daddy. What if I can't swim back up?" Peter pressed, followed by a visible shudder.

"Then one of your coaches will help you," Tony replied in mild surprise. He'd watched enough practices to know that someone was always in the water when the kids jumped. He'd even witnessed the occasional hiccup that had led to them having to duck down to assist a child to the surface and make sure they were okay before allowing them to swim to the side. Surely, Peter had seen that too. "Someone will be right there just in case."

For a moment, Peter said nothing as he seemingly thought it all over. "Can you do it? Can you be there instead?" he asked, his voice laced with nothing but hope. 

"They won't let me, Buddy. I'm not a lifeguard," Tony sadly replied. Even during free swim, he wasn't allowed to be there to catch his son. He'd already asked and been given a thorough explanation as to why that wasn't safe or reasonable. He'd been left with no choice but to agree. Hero, he may be but he just didn't have that kind of training.

"But you're Iron Man, Daddy," Peter reasoned, making Tony smile more than it probably should have. 

"Yeah but that's not exactly the same skill set," he replied with a chuckle and then offered what he hoped was the next best solution. "What if I wait for you by the ladder?"

At that Question, Peter nervously brought his finger to his mouth before stopping himself and chewing on his lip instead. "In the water?" he asked after some time.

"If they'll let me, sure," Tony agreed because that didn't sound terribly intrusive and if it would help his kid feel better than he would do his best to make it happen. 

"Can Pepper come and watch?" Peter asked next, a smile creeping across his face.

"I bet she would _love_ to come and watch," Tony returned with a smile of his own. God, he loved the way his kid loved his girlfriend. It made him wish she was more and just as he was starting to think about how nice that would be, he was brought back to the present as a small hand tugged at his.

"Daddy, what about Uncle Happy?" Peter asked sounding as though he'd already asked that particular question at least once before. 

Tony huffed a laugh and sat down at the edge of Peter's bed. Clearly he was in for an expended conversation. He really shouldn't have been surprised. Bedtime was the kid's favorite time to bring up things that he didn't feel like he could brush aside or ignore. "Do you need an entire cheering section?" he asked with amusement. 

"Mmhmm," Peter happily agreed. "Can we ask Uncle Rhodey too?"

For a second, Tony sat there with his mouth agape. While he'd heard his son call Happy his uncle he'd never heard the boy refer to his best friend as such. "Uncle Rhodey! When did that happen?" he asked as he tried to think of what the shit he might have said that caused Peter to decide that Rhodey was his uncle as well. 

"He told me that if Happy's my uncle that he is too," Peter supplied before Tony could come up with anything.

"Is that what you two were giggling about on the phone the other night?" he asked, raising a brow in question. He should have seen that coming. There was no way in hell that Rhodey was going to allow himself to be one-upped by Happy. Especially in the 'uncle' department. 

"Yes!" Peter practically cackled with delight. "Do you think he can he come?"

As much Tony would have loved to say yet, he knew it wouldn't be possible. "Sorry, Baby. He's in Virginia right now. I bet Happy or Pepper would be happy to take a video for us though," he said with a smile, "We can record it on my phone so that JARVIS can save it for us to show him later."

"Okay", Peter reluctantly agreed. "-and we can send it to him while we get ice cream."

"Oh, we're getting ice cream now too?" Tony asked in mirth. He was against it he idea, he was just sure that he'd made no such promises. Apparently his kid was making plans without him.

"Uh-huh," Peter chirped. "-to celebrate me being a 'Minnow.'"

With a nod of his head and a tired sigh, Tony smiled fondly toward his son. "I suppose that _would_ be something to celebrate," he agreed and then managed to settle the kid down enough to sleep. Afterwhich, he went to make his phone calls so that he could issue some last-minute invitations. When both parties confirmed that they wouldn't miss it for the world, he could almost swear that he felt his heart swell.

The next day, Peter was excited to get to the pool, however, even with Tony being allowed to be in the water and Pepper and Happy there to encourage him, the boy was getting more and more nervous as his turn on the diving board approached. He'd already nailed every other portion of the assessment, all he had to do was make that one jump and it would be over. Tony tried to remind him of that but his son was still fidgeting with anxious anticipation.

"Daddy, I'm scared," Peter whispered as soon as the coach waved him towards her. 

Pepper, who had been holding Peter in her lap, smiled as Tony took his son's hand and walked towards the edge of the pool. "I'll be right there waiting for you, Baby. All you have to do is jump in and swim to me," he said before slowly easing his way into the chilly water. 

"Okay," Peter murmured before glancing towards Happy who was giving him a thumbs up and Pepper who was blowing him a kiss. Then he looked back over at his dad one more time before slowly making his way towards the diving board, clumsily climbing up and carefully hurrying to the end of the board. 

For a moment, Tony thought the kid was going to jump right in and prepared himself for the splash. When that splash never came he looked up to see his son with his arms wrapped tightly around his middle and tears welling up in his eyes. "You can do it, Buddy! I'm right here," he shouted, causing Peter to perk up just a little. 

"That's right, Peter! You've got this!" Tony heard Happy shout next followed by more words of encouragement from Pepper. After that, everyone surrounding the pool started clapping and cheering. Including a few toddlers that couldn't possibly know what they were cheering for but it didn't really matter because Peter was looking between all of them with wide tearful eyes. "Come on, Petey," he continued to encourage, "Swim to me."

That was all it took, Peter looked on last time between the people he cared about the most, waved slightly towards the phone that Pepper was recording with and leaped into the water with his nose pinched between his fingers. Tony held his own breath as waited for his son to resurface. He was just starting to think that it was taking a bit too long when the boy's head popped up out of the water. Only he wasn't grinning or laughing as he'd assumed he would be.

Instead, Peter treaded water for a few seconds so that he could shake the water out of his overgrown hair and look around, seemingly to reorient himself. It wasn't until he locked eyes with his dad that a smile spread across his face. "I did it, Daddy! Did you see me?", he shouted as his coach urged him to start swimming.

"I saw you, Pete! We all saw you. You were so brave!" Tony replied with a smile once he had his son happily in his arms. Then he leaned and kissed the side of his son's face and held him tight before leading them both towards the ladder where both Happy, Pepper, one of the coaches, and several friends were waiting to congratulation him. 

Peter had passed the assessment with flying colors right alongside his peers and Tony couldn't have possibly been any more proud. When the praise died down, Tony pulled the towel a little more tightly around his son's shoulders and smiled towards Pepper and Happy who were still nearby. "I think it's about time we take this little fish out for some ice cream," he said with a smile but Peter was quick to correct him.

"Not just any fish, Daddy, _I'm a Minnow_ '", Peter stated without room for argument. Then took off to go change clothes because all his favorite people were waiting to take him out for ice cream and he couldn't wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come hang out with me on [tumblr!](https://yes-i-am-happyaspie.tumblr.com%22) While you're there, check out the fanart I made for this chapter! [ Link to Artwork](https://yes-i-am-happyaspie.tumblr.com/post/627910613641904128/parenting-peter-chapter-10-happyaspie-marvel)


	11. A Zoo Full of Monkeys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets talked into being a parent chaperone for Peter's class trip to the zoo. It goes about as well as you would expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look! I didn't forget about this AU and wrote new chapter! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it because... Well, poor Tony is about to go through it. He loves his kid though, so it'll all be worth it in the end. ❤️❤️❤️

Tony hung up the phone and groaned in a combination of frustration and mild apprehension. Peter had come home from school the day before in tears because the teacher had said that their upcoming field trip to the zoo was at risk of being canceled, though no reason had been given. That left Tony to assume that it was money-related and seeing as he was a billionaire he figured he could help with that. 

Except it wasn't a money problem. Every student in the class had paid their dues and a transportation grant had covered the bus fee. The problem was that they didn't have enough adults to supervise. They needed one adult per twelve children and their class hadn't had any parent volunteers. That information had left Tony in a bit of a dilemma because he'd stupidly promised his kid that he would fix it. 

He listened as the administrator went on to say that they had tried to contact potential parent volunteers but since the trip was set to take place in just a few days' time, they had been unsuccessful. Then the fucking bigger than money question came. "I know you're a very busy man, Mr. Stark but perhaps you would consider chaperoning so that the trip can go on," the man said, tagging on an enthusiastic, "You'd be a real hero," at the end.

Tony wanted to say that he was already a goddamned hero and that he didn't need to add babysitting to his resume but then he thought about his son and gave in. "Sure, why the hell not," he sighed out. "Where do I sign up?"

And that was that. The following Friday he was climbing onto an overly loud bus where he was introduced as 'Mr. Tony' because having thirty-two kids screaming 'Mr. Stark' was likely to draw attention. He sighed and stretched one of his legs across the seat while watching his son and all of his classmates bounce around in their seats. He wondered if they were going to be keeping up that level of energy for the entire day. Though he supposed that if the way Peter and Ned acted when they were together was any indication, they probably were and sighed. It was going to be a long-ass day.

The ride itself was only supposed to take forty-five minutes but somewhere around the half-way mark, the bus came to a sudden stop at the edge of the highway. Apparently, the piece of crap vehicle was overheating and they were going to have to call in another bus. That meant that he would be spending an extra twenty minutes, at least, trapped inside of what amounted to a metal box, surrounded by over two dozen hyped-up third graders. Half of which suddenly needed to take a piss, Peter included, and wasn't that just fucking fantastic? 

"Just a little bit longer, Buddy," Tony said as his son squirmed a bit closer to him. They had been at a standstill for less than fifteen minutes and the kid had already become clingy as hell. Not that having his son plastered to his side was anything out of the ordinary but this time it was different. This time it wasn't about affection or even attention. It was about comfort. Peter had been growing more and more anxious about being stranded on the side of the road and the fact that he was increasingly in want of a bathroom wasn't helping. "The other bus will get here soon and we'll be at the zoo in no time."

"Can't you make it go faster, Daddy? Can't you get JARVIS to order us a really fast, rocket bus that could take us there right now," Peter complained, causing Tony to huff a laugh. The child was usually extremely conservative when asking for things. It was sort of fun to hear him requesting something so outrageous. Even if the circumstances surrounding the appeal were less than ideal.

"Sorry, baby. I'm pretty sure I can't just go out and buy a rocket-powered bus. Even if I could, it would have to go the speed limit," Tony chuckled. He was, however, absolutely planning on buying the school a brand spanking new bus of its very own as soon as fucking possible. Had he known that they would be using the grant money to rent a shitty box on wheels he would have done it already. It would have been worth every damned penny. Then he looked at his son's scrunched up brow and decided that a distraction was in order. "What about when we get there, Buddy? What do you want to see?"

"The bathroom," Peter answered with a pout and then curled his legs in a bit more tightly.

Tony nodded his head and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the obvious. The kid, along with several others, had already made it very fucking clear that an immediate bathroom break was going to be necessary. "Okay, after the bathroom, what do you want to see?" he probed.

After very little thought, Peter sat up and pulled a few small animal toys that Tony didn't even know he'd brought with him out of his pocket. "The monkeys and the reptile house," the boy mumbled as he turned a tiny rubber snake around in his fingers. "I want to see a really big lizard that looks like a dinosaur."

It was no surprise to Tony that his son would want to see something that resembled a dinosaur. The kid had been going on and on about them for over three months. To the point that the damn things were taking over the house. Dinosaur pillows, dinosaur pasta, dinosaur books, and an annoyingly repetitive dinosaur cartoon. "Of course, you want to see a dinosaur," he teased before turning his attention to Ned who was sitting across the aisle, looking out the window. 

"What about you, Ned? What do you want to see while we're there?" he asked and pretty soon every kid on the bus was excitedly shouting what animals they wanted to see. Tony nodded along pleasantly and remained outwardly calm as they chattered around him but in reality, his patience was growing thin. He was so tired of sitting on that damn bus that he could fucking scream and someone up above must have decided to take mercy on him because within the next two minutes a marginally newer, slightly cleaner, replacement bus pulled up behind them. 

__________

By some miracle, they managed to swap busses, drive the rest of the way to the zoo, get through the ticket line, and have all of the kids in and out of the provided bathrooms without any major disasters. That endeavor was followed by an attempt to get a group of excited children to stand still long enough to listen to a handful of rules. Tony couldn't for the life of him figure out why the hell they hadn't taken advantage of the half-a-fucking-hour they'd been marooned on the side of the road and gone over all of that then. It wasn't like they'd had anything better to do. He kept his mouth shut though. As far as he was concerned he was just there to be another body. He had zero desire to be anything beyond that but of course, it didn't work out that way.

The group was making their way down the sidewalk towards where the African animals were kept when out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw one of the boys from the group dart in a different direction. He waited for all of six points two seconds for one of the actual teachers to notice before growling in annoyance. The child, whose name he didn't even know has paused sift through some decorative rocks and didn't seem even slightly daunted by the fact that his class was leaving him behind. "Hey, Kid!" he called, having already taken several long strides towards the wayward boy. "What are you doing? Keep up,", he said, same as he would have had it been Peter and waved the boy back towards the group. 

You would have thought that would have been the end of it but the same kid wandered off three more times before they ever made it to the first exhibit. The teachers thanked him every time he backtracked to retrieve him but it was becoming annoying and fuck. He'd not planned on spending the entire day herding kittens. Therefore when he found himself once again coaxing the boy back where he was supposed to be, he lost it a little. "I swear to god, if you don't stay with this group-" he huffed, though he never finished the mild threat. The teacher had already come to take over, which was probably for the best because by then the child was arguing and he just stood there and thanked fuck that his own child never acted like that.

Just a few moments later, they finally, finally reached the lions, at which time, Flash decided that he'd been quiet for far too long. "Lions eat people," he said with a maniacal grin and generally pleased attitude. Tony rolled his eyes as the teacher explained that wasn't really the case but of course that wasn't enough to shut the kid up. 

"Yes, they do. My cousin told me that the lions escaped one time and ate three little kids. He said they just climbed out of their enclosure with their claws," Flash excitedly continued, seemingly taking pleasure in the way some of his classmates began to look more and more nervous as he spoke. "I hope they get out again while we're here! I bet they'd eat Pee Pee Peter first," he finished and Tony was right on the verge of losing his shit at the nickname alone when his son came barreling towards the other boy already shouting.

"Nuh-uh! My daddy's here and he wouldn't let them eat me!" Peter shouted but Flash was quick to mock him. Then just as Tony was considering whether or not it would be worth the legal fees and negative PR to throw the little shit over the fence and straight into a lion's mouth there was a teacher standing directly between them. It was probably a good call, really. 

"No one is getting eaten. The lions can't get out," the woman nearly shouted before turning her attention to the instigator. "-and Flash, if you say one more word to or about Peter you'll be spending the rest of this field trip holding my hand. Are we clear?" she asked. 

Tony didn't even bother to cover the scoff that escaped his lips. He understood that the kid was eight but it really grated on his nerves the way the school always insisted on giving him one chance after another but he opted to save that argument for another day. Peter was already tugging at his hand and begging to be picked up so that he could see better. Of course, he obliged and leaned down so that his son could climb onto his shoulders. As he did so, he spotted Flash glaring at them from a distance and thought that maybe he saw a little spark of jealousy in the boy's eyes but it passed so quickly that he couldn't be sure that it wasn't just his imagination.

By the time they had seen the elephants, zebras, and giraffes, it was already pushing noon so they started back to the bus so that they could pull out the prepared sack lunches that the school had provided. The meals were passed out and the kids were sent to spread out over a grassy hillside where they pulled various foods out of crumpled up brown paper bags. Tony smiled at the way they were all so childishly excited about an oatmeal cookie. It didn't even look like a particularly good oatmeal cookie but it had them all giggling with delight as they ate that first. 

Lunch was followed by another bathroom break because one paper napkin per child had not been nearly enough to prevent messy faces and sticky little fingers. He knew his own kid was a stickler for staying clean but he'd not realized how odd that actually was given his age group. There were several kids that left him wondering if they had actually gotten anything into their damn mouths. 

As everyone filed out of the bathroom, Tony glanced at his watch. There were still two more fucking hours left to go. He took a deep breath in through his nose and followed the group towards the reptile house. Though as he watched Peter practically dragging Ned to the front of the group so that they could get there first, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. However, that good feeling didn’t last long because the moment they made it up to the enclosure that was just outside of the large glass building, he was met with something he would never be able to unsee. Two giant tortoises loudly having sex directly infront of him and the thirty-plus children he was with.

“What are they doing, Daddy?” Peter asked, having popped up out of seemingly nowhere.

Tony looked where the other adults were trying to usher the kids past the display as quickly as possible and his curious son beside him. “Nothing, they’re not doing anything,” he said, taking the teacher's lead and nudging both Peter and Ned towards the door.

“Are they playing a game?” Peter asked, clearly not willing to accept the non-answer as an answer.

“Uh, sure. A game. They’re just- playing a game,” Tony said, glancing over his shoulder and hoping to God that the kid would ask what game they were playing. He was fairly sure that he had at least a few more years before he had to have any kind of a sex talk with the kid and he’d be damned if was going to let a pair of exhibitionist turtles rush him into having that conversation.

“Do you think they’re having fun?” Peter asked, sounding more than a little confused by the entire ordeal.

Having finally entered the sex-free reptile house, Tony sighed and looked at his son who was still waiting for an answer. “They're definitely having fun, kiddo,” he replied with a smirk before hurriedly redirecting his son’s attention towards the numerous creatures they were currently surrounded by.

For a while, the cool indoor exhibit was nice. There were benches that he could sit on while the kids ran from exhibit to exhibit. His kid got to see the lizards he’d been wanting to see and Flash was being abnormally agreeable. Then, without any warning at all, things started going downhill.

One of the reptile keepers entered the building and announced that they would be feeding one of their largest snakes. All of the kids gathered around the glass and waited with anticipation for someone behind the sense to open the hatch. It wasn’t long before a young woman appeared, smiling as he used a long pair of tongs to encourage the snake to take the lifeless meal she was offering it. He wasn’t really paying that much attention until he heard his son gasping out loud.

“They eat rabbits?” Peter shouted in horror before clinging to his dad’s pants leg and hiding his face. 

Tony sighed and picked the little boy up in an attempt to quiet him. “You know snakes eat other animals, Buddy,” he said, rubbing his son’s back when his neck grew damp with silent tears.

“I didn’t know they ate rabbits,” Peter returned and Tony wasn’t sure how to respond to that without traumatizing the kid further. So he simply held him close and rubbed his back until it was time to move on. 

After that, Peter didn’t leave Tony’s side for a while. Not even when Ned was calling him over to look at a pond full of tadpoles. In fact, he didn’t even let go of his dad’s hand until they had entered a separate part of the building that held all kinds of insects and arachnids where, much to Tony’s horror, his son decided that his new favorite thing in the world was spiders. It took more effort than it should have to draw his kid away from the Goliath Birdeaters cage. He wasn’t terribly bothered by the fascination until the boy started begging for a new book and an eight-legged plushy that he saw in the gift shop on the way. At that point, Tony abruptly decided that as annoying as the months-long dinosaur fixation had been, he preferred it over spiders, any day.

With the reptile house behind them, there wasn’t much time left so the teachers gave the kids a choice of seeing more animals or going to the playground. The nearly unanimous decision had been the playground, which Tony couldn’t wrap his brain around because they were at the zoo. And while you would want to do something that you do every goddamn day when you were at the zoo? However, he didn’t complain too much because at least they would be there long. Twenty minutes at best and the best part was that the play area was fenced in, meaning that he could take a few minutes to text Pepper and let her know how things were going.

Tony had only sent one message before realizing that the playground was entirely too chaotic to even think. He ended up tucking his phone back into his pocket and scanning the wild group for his own kid. When he’d scanned the playground three times and still didn’t see him his heart dropped down into his fucking stomach. “Pete!” he shouted, already starting to circle the perimeter. “Peter Benjamin where are you!” he called again as panic began to flood his chest and watching Ned come skittering across the mulch looking just as distraught sure as shit didn’t help. 

“Mr. Stark!” Ned yelled, coming to a skidding stop just before crashing into Tony’s legs. “You have to come quick. Peter’s stuck!”

“What do you mean stuck?” Tony cautiously inquired because while he was relieved to know that his son hadn’t been kidnapped he still had no idea where he was or what kind of condition he was in. 

After being led to the bottom of a six-foot tall tube, Tony tried to lean down to peer inside but was nearly kicked in the face by an onslaught of children barrelling down it. He had to leap back to avoid ending up with a broken nose and that’s when he realized that Ned wasn’t pointing towards the slide. He was pointing towards the canopy above it. 

“Flash dared him to climb all the way to the top of the clubhouse and now he can’t get down!” Ned announced, glaring at the other boy who was standing nearby. 

‘Flash Fucking Thompson strikes again,’ Tony thought to himself but as much as he wanted to scream at the little shit, his kid was still stranded ten feet above the ground and he didn’t want to waste any time getting to him. “Hey, Pete! I’m coming to get you, alright!” he hollered loud enough to gain the boy’s attention over the ruckus. 

“I can do it myself, Daddy,” Peter shouted back before going back to pensively examining his position and shifting more towards the edge. “I just- I just need to find the right way.”

“The right way is in my arms,” Tony shouted back, already climbing up the structure, towards his son who was still crawling around the top of the thick plastic roof. He wasn’t even sure how the fuck the kid got up there and then his mind provided him with the image of his boy toppling to the ground before he could get there causing his breath to hitch. “Be still, Kiddo. I really need you to be still.”

Ignoring the crowd that had gathered below them, Tony hoisted himself up, grabbed Peter with one arm and swung him around onto his back, instructing him to hold on tight as they made their descent. He wished he had a damn suit with him. It was awkward trying to maneuver his way back down to the ground with a squirming eight-year-old on his back.

The very moment he had his son back on the ground, Tony began to explain to his child, in no uncertain terms exactly how stupid it had been to climb to a part of the equipment that wasn’t meant to be played on or to accept any kind of dare. Especially one that had been issued by the one kid that he didn’t get along with. He had to hold back the urge to shout. Not because he was angry so much as he’d been terrified. “That was so dangerous, Pete. You can’t do things like that. You scared me to death,” he said and then picked his son up to join the teachers where they had started gathering everyone up. Apparently, they agreed that it was high time they got the fuck out of there.

The bus ride back to the school was blissfully drama-free meaning that they were back to the school and being dismissed for the day in no time. And once he was back into his own clean, calm car, Tony was feeling a lot better about himself. “Did you have fun, Pete?” he asked when he realized that his typically hyper-verbal kid was being far too quiet. 

“I guess,” Peter replied with what Tony hoped was a tired sigh. The entire field trip had been sort of hit or miss. 

“Well, did you at least have some fun?” Tony asked, hoping that the good things that had happened would outweigh the bad. Like seeing how ridiculous giraffes look when they run, eating a cookie before lunch, learning exciting new facts, and buying a brand new book in the gift shop. 

Peter twisted his nose and gave a thought full look before nodding his head in the positive. “Most of it was fun but we didn’t see any monkeys,” he replied, with another breathy sigh.

All Tony could do was huff a laugh because as far as he was concerned, the zoo had been full of monkeys. Hell, he’d scaled a play structure with one on his back. “I see a monkey right now,” he teased, meeting eyes with his son for the briefest of moments through the rearview mirror. 

“Where,” Peter asked with a dubious look and his arms crossed over his chest. 

After stopping at a light, Tony turned around and pointed towards the backseat. “Right there,” he said with a smirk, eliciting a fit of giggles from son.

“I’m not a monkey, Daddy!” Peter laughed and laughed, and Tony sure he’d never get tired of that sound.

“Could have fooled me, the way you were climbing all over the top of that slide,” he replied with a grin and then made a hasty decision. “But I’ll tell you what, how about we go back to the zoo, just you and me and Pepper, next weekend, hmm?” he asked wondering if he was making a huge fucking mistake because the zoo would be crowded as hell on a weekend but then his son smiled and he figured it didn’t much matter.

“Can I show Pepper the big Spider?” Peter asked.

“If you must,” Tony returned feigning annoyance.

“And can we find a movie about spiders to watch tonight after dinner?” Peter asked next, already giddy with excitement.

“Sure, Buddy. How about Charlotte's Web,” Tony suggested with a deep sigh because it looked as though spiders were definitely going to be the kid’s newest obsession. He just hoped it didn’t last too long. He was really going to miss those damn dinosaurs. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite parts all took place in and around the reptile house. 😂 What about you?


End file.
